WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.700 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:08.240 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.660 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:13.660 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:13.660 --> 00:00:15.779 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10 a .m. 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:18.280 in the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.859 us online at secondcitychurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:24.519 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:29.989 sermon. God bless. Let's pray again. Lord, as 00:00:29.989 --> 00:00:34.109 we prayed over our children who are now with 00:00:34.109 --> 00:00:38.469 us, Lord, we ask that you would give us faith, 00:00:38.469 --> 00:00:42.469 that you would speak to us from your word and 00:00:42.469 --> 00:00:45.909 that we would know you more, that we'd love you 00:00:45.909 --> 00:00:48.210 more, that our faith would increase, that it 00:00:48.210 --> 00:00:52.770 would be our greatest desire to follow you and 00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:55.289 to go where you would have us go, that we would 00:00:55.289 --> 00:01:02.149 be those who make disciples. eagerly mirror our 00:01:02.149 --> 00:01:09.090 Lord who goes and makes disciples, who brings 00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:14.829 good news. Lord, use me now. May the words in 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:16.930 my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts 00:01:16.930 --> 00:01:19.310 be pleasing in your sight. The Lord, our rock 00:01:19.310 --> 00:01:25.530 and our Redeemer. Amen. All right. What happened 00:01:25.530 --> 00:01:32.920 to the apostles? Don't ever wonder that Maybe 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:35.219 some of you know some of the answer to that last 00:01:35.219 --> 00:01:38.840 week we were looking at John chapter 21 and near 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:42.500 the end of that we talked about how You know, 00:01:42.500 --> 00:01:45.000 we got a little glimpse Jesus talks about the 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.280 end of Peter's life and how John himself actually 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.640 spoke about the end of his life and how Jesus 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:53.219 wasn't speaking about the end of his life but 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:56.579 the end of of Peter's life, and we remembered 00:01:56.579 --> 00:02:02.219 Aslan's wise words to Erebus at the end of the 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:04.739 great Narnian book, the horse and his boy, child, 00:02:04.780 --> 00:02:08.479 I'm telling you your story, not hers. No one 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:12.020 has told any story but their own. And yet as 00:02:12.020 --> 00:02:16.599 different as Peter and John's stories were, and 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.319 as different as all the apostles' stories were, 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:22.259 There were themes that ran through them that 00:02:22.259 --> 00:02:25.039 sort of marked actually every single one of the 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:29.759 apostles. Their themes were this, that ran together. 00:02:30.780 --> 00:02:37.539 All their life, all their deaths, were on mission 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:41.419 with God and the world, for the mission of God 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:44.360 and the world. So let me give you a few examples, 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:48.319 okay? Peter, like we saw last week, he was crucified 00:02:49.389 --> 00:02:52.550 We have good reason to believe and the accounts 00:02:52.550 --> 00:02:54.449 are fairly early on. He was crucified upside 00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:55.969 down because he did not want to be crucified 00:02:55.969 --> 00:02:59.150 like his Lord under the persecution in Rome under 00:02:59.150 --> 00:03:04.669 Nero around the mid 60s AD, likely 66. John, 00:03:04.729 --> 00:03:07.469 who we had looked at last week, as far as we 00:03:07.469 --> 00:03:09.849 know, he's actually the only apostle who was 00:03:09.849 --> 00:03:13.449 not put to death for the sake of the gospel. 00:03:13.509 --> 00:03:17.370 He lived until his old age, but he likely lived 00:03:17.370 --> 00:03:20.949 not there in Israel and Jerusalem of course after 00:03:20.949 --> 00:03:23.009 AD 70 when the Romans took over almost all the 00:03:23.009 --> 00:03:25.770 Christians fled But he lived near the end of 00:03:25.770 --> 00:03:28.229 his life around what would be modern -day Turkey 00:03:28.229 --> 00:03:30.689 and the city of Ephesus We know this from actually 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:32.509 the letters that we have those little letters 00:03:32.509 --> 00:03:34.129 that we have in the book of Revelation and the 00:03:34.129 --> 00:03:36.250 churches that he wrote to Right there at the 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:39.169 book of Revelation near the end of his life John 00:03:39.169 --> 00:03:42.430 the brother of James Was the first sorry James 00:03:42.430 --> 00:03:44.490 the brother of John was the first to be put to 00:03:44.490 --> 00:03:47.389 death Does anybody know who killed James, the 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:49.949 brother of John, in Acts chapter 12? Kids, do 00:03:49.949 --> 00:03:52.610 any of you know? Sorry, adults, do any of you 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:56.469 know? Herod, I heard somebody say Herod, I think. 00:03:56.610 --> 00:03:58.710 A couple of you said Herod. Herod, right there 00:03:58.710 --> 00:04:01.629 in Acts chapter 12, for the sake of his faith. 00:04:03.349 --> 00:04:07.330 Andrew traveled north. Many people believe that 00:04:07.330 --> 00:04:09.669 he made it to what would be modern day Russia, 00:04:10.530 --> 00:04:13.270 but then he was martyred. in what would be, again, 00:04:13.509 --> 00:04:15.909 modern day Turkey, Greece, around that area. 00:04:17.110 --> 00:04:20.949 Philip went to North Africa. In fact, the tradition 00:04:20.949 --> 00:04:25.930 has it that Philip was preaching and the wife 00:04:25.930 --> 00:04:28.949 of one of the Roman procouncils gave her life 00:04:28.949 --> 00:04:32.149 to following Jesus. She responded to his preaching 00:04:32.149 --> 00:04:35.290 and the procouncil was so enraged that he had 00:04:35.290 --> 00:04:38.550 Philip put to death because of his preaching 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:40.829 and someone coming to faith, his own wife coming 00:04:40.829 --> 00:04:46.410 to faith in Jesus. Thomas, the twin who we know 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:50.870 as Doubting Thomas. By the way, I need to say 00:04:50.870 --> 00:04:53.410 this because it doesn't fit as much in the rest 00:04:53.410 --> 00:04:55.810 of my sermon, but this is important. Did you 00:04:55.810 --> 00:04:57.829 notice this little detail in our text that said, 00:04:58.110 --> 00:05:02.350 and some doubted, and Jesus still commissions 00:05:02.350 --> 00:05:07.230 those people? Your doubt does not mean God is 00:05:07.230 --> 00:05:12.329 not using you, okay? I mean that. There's a real 00:05:12.329 --> 00:05:13.930 temptation, I think, when we are going through 00:05:13.930 --> 00:05:15.769 difficult times that we think that is when maybe 00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:17.670 we are least useful. It's actually so often when 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:21.129 we are most useful in the kingdom. That's a side 00:05:21.129 --> 00:05:24.250 note, but it's a really wonderful little detail. 00:05:24.850 --> 00:05:29.490 Anyway, Thomas went to modern -day Iraq, Syria, 00:05:30.350 --> 00:05:33.009 and then actually people believe that Thomas 00:05:33.009 --> 00:05:37.509 made it all the way to India. He started the 00:05:37.509 --> 00:05:41.600 church over in India, and he we believe was killed 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.779 by four different soldiers for his faith and 00:05:43.779 --> 00:05:46.779 preaching the good news of Jesus. Nathaniel, 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.879 it seems like he loved to travel. People think 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:54.180 that Nathaniel went with Thomas for a while, 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:58.100 but then he went down and kind of ministered 00:05:58.100 --> 00:06:01.279 along the trade routes between Ethiopia and Arabia. 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:06.519 So he was down in North Africa. I could go on. 00:06:07.419 --> 00:06:10.319 But there is a theme that is going on, that despite 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:13.000 the fact that each of their stories is absolutely 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:15.279 unique, like we saw last week in John chapter 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:18.079 21, there are themes that are running through 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:22.259 all of them. The theme is they were a going people, 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:26.560 a disciple -making people, a baptizing people 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:28.279 in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:32.199 simply because they were apostolic. They were 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:36.699 part of the people of God. So, We're in this 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:38.680 short series in Eastertide, which, you know, 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.639 is from Easter to Pentecost, which it's actually, 00:06:40.779 --> 00:06:43.060 we're gonna, in two weeks, we're gonna look at 00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:47.100 how Pentecost is related to this. And we're looking 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:49.100 at these narratives, this post -resurrection 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:50.800 narratives of Jesus with his disciples. We're 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:52.779 just asking this question, like, what do these 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:55.980 narratives mean for us? How do they shape our 00:06:55.980 --> 00:06:58.920 identity as a church? What does it mean to be 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:02.589 part of the resurrection people? Today we have 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:04.769 another of the famous stories of Jesus after 00:07:04.769 --> 00:07:06.569 his resurrection with his disciples. Of course 00:07:06.569 --> 00:07:08.870 this story, this little narrative here, this 00:07:08.870 --> 00:07:10.790 little teaching we have here is known as the 00:07:10.790 --> 00:07:15.449 Great Commission. The Great Commission. Adolf 00:07:15.449 --> 00:07:18.910 Harnack, who was a church historian, theologian, 00:07:19.290 --> 00:07:21.410 German church historian, theologian, end of the 00:07:21.410 --> 00:07:24.470 18th century, early 19th century, early 20th 00:07:24.470 --> 00:07:28.670 century, he wrote this. One cannot say anything 00:07:28.670 --> 00:07:32.759 greater or more in 40 words than what Jesus says 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:36.360 right here. And while there's so much that we 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:38.800 could say about this passage, again, I'm trying 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:41.120 to focus us on these narratives of what does 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.319 it mean for us as an identity? Like, how is it 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:45.839 shaping us as who we are? And I think one of 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:47.259 the things that's interesting is that when we 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:51.180 come to this passage, I want to say this to you 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:52.519 this morning. This is going to kind of be my 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:55.500 main thing. There's nothing new here in a way, 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:57.779 and yet there's something radically different. 00:07:59.370 --> 00:08:02.689 Which is to say, this text is shaping the people 00:08:02.689 --> 00:08:04.569 of God in a way that they'd always been shaped. 00:08:05.329 --> 00:08:08.670 And yet there's an enormous change. Why do I 00:08:08.670 --> 00:08:14.529 say that? Here we have, in the Great Commission, 00:08:15.550 --> 00:08:20.399 the basic structure. of biblical covenants, which 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:23.800 is the relationship that God had with his people. 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:26.339 The covenants, I've told you before, is a binding 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:28.860 relational commitment and promise. And what is 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:31.639 that basic structure? Well, first, there's the 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:33.899 introduction of God. Normally, that's actually 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:36.799 the Lord in the Old Testament. Yahweh is proclaimed. 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:38.779 But specifically, when you come to a covenant, 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:41.860 it's who has the authority? And who's the relationships? 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:44.820 Who's the one primarily making the covenant? 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:49.759 Who's the main party? And Jesus, the first thing 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:54.000 he says is, all authority has been given to me. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:57.799 He's establishing the parties in a way, all authority. 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:03.340 I'm the Lord, the King. Now the second part is 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:06.419 there's these imperative demands of the relationship. 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:11.259 Now here it's this, make disciples, baptize, 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:15.360 and teach them to obey everything I have commanded. 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:19.460 That's a key part of covenant, the stipulations 00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:23.360 of the covenant, the imperative demands. And 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.659 then there's this third section, which is also 00:09:25.659 --> 00:09:29.220 throughout, which is blessing, blessing, which 00:09:29.220 --> 00:09:32.779 is most often communicated by saying, I am with 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:35.139 you, the presence of God with his people. I'm 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:36.820 with you always, even to the end of the age. 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:40.259 So what I'm suggesting to you is that the Great 00:09:40.259 --> 00:09:44.399 Commission is taking on this This basic structure, 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:47.179 which was true of all of God's dynamics with 00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:49.799 his people. When they understood who they were, 00:09:49.820 --> 00:09:51.539 they understood themselves as being in covenant 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:55.080 with God, and these things existed in those covenants. 00:09:55.940 --> 00:09:58.700 So the Great Commission is making good on the 00:09:58.700 --> 00:10:02.259 covenants between God and his people. And here's 00:10:02.259 --> 00:10:03.720 what I want to say subsequently, and this is 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:05.679 what I want to sort of argue this morning in 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:10.440 a way. The covenants are always forming a missionary 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:17.039 people. Always. The people of God always had 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:20.539 a missionary identity. So here's what's gonna 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:23.200 be a lot of the sermon this morning. We are gonna 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:25.980 do an overview of the Old Testament covenants 00:10:25.980 --> 00:10:32.059 quickly. Which is a lot to do, okay? Let's start 00:10:32.059 --> 00:10:35.399 with Noah. We'll get to Adam after a little while. 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:38.159 Let's look at Noah. If you have your Bible open, 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:42.299 would you open it? Or if you want to grab that 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:49.039 one in front of you to Genesis chapter 9. Genesis 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.120 is the very first book. Genesis chapter 9. If 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:55.299 you remember the story, you'll remember that 00:10:55.299 --> 00:10:57.399 clearly God has all authority, of course. He 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:00.759 has actually just commanded the rain and rain 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:05.220 to begin and to stop. His authority has been 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:10.759 clearly established. But also, you see here verse 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:16.779 8 that he establishes this covenant and God said 00:11:16.779 --> 00:11:19.779 to Noah and to his sons with him it's he that 00:11:19.779 --> 00:11:22.259 is speaking he's the one who is authoritatively 00:11:22.709 --> 00:11:25.169 engaging with this covenant here, behold, I establish 00:11:25.169 --> 00:11:27.730 my covenant with you and your offspring after 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:30.129 you, and with every living creature that is with 00:11:30.129 --> 00:11:32.450 you, the birds, the livestock, and every blah, 00:11:32.529 --> 00:11:34.330 blah, blah, blah, blah, we keep going. And one 00:11:34.330 --> 00:11:36.169 of the things that we actually looked at this 00:11:36.169 --> 00:11:37.909 fall is when you come to the Noahic covenant, 00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:40.490 what you see is this retelling of this story 00:11:40.490 --> 00:11:43.830 that God has committed to His entire creation. 00:11:44.590 --> 00:11:46.870 That is a key thing in understanding the Noahic 00:11:46.870 --> 00:11:49.149 covenant, that God is committed to his entire 00:11:49.149 --> 00:11:51.250 creation. And that's why actually in verse one 00:11:51.250 --> 00:11:54.690 and verse seven, the imperative command is a 00:11:54.690 --> 00:11:57.470 restating of the comparative command to Noah. 00:11:57.669 --> 00:12:03.429 Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth. There's 00:12:03.429 --> 00:12:09.269 always this earth kind of wide scope at play 00:12:09.269 --> 00:12:13.049 here. All of the earth is to be under the Lordship. 00:12:14.459 --> 00:12:20.580 of God. I want you to think with me about how 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:23.580 this covenant is not just for the sake of Noah. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.460 It's not even remotely just for the sake of Noah. 00:12:27.940 --> 00:12:30.580 It's for the birds and the fish and the sea and 00:12:30.580 --> 00:12:33.159 all of it. The scope of the Noahic covenant is 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:37.019 the entirety of creation, all of it. Okay, that 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:39.700 was fairly quick. Let's go to Abraham. Turn the 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:43.409 page with me. Go to chapter 12. There's a number 00:12:43.409 --> 00:12:45.210 of places that we could look, and we'll look 00:12:45.210 --> 00:12:46.649 at one more. There's a number of places that 00:12:46.649 --> 00:12:52.250 we could look in to consider the Abrahamic covenant. 00:12:52.389 --> 00:12:54.190 But I want to say that this is not just a covenant 00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:56.309 for all of creation, but this is a covenant of 00:12:56.309 --> 00:13:00.009 mission, specifically of blessing, okay? A covenantal 00:13:00.009 --> 00:13:03.639 mission of blessing. So what you... What you 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:06.779 find here, again, is the parties involved in 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:09.000 this covenant immediately. Verse one there says, 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:13.700 now the Lord said to Abram, right? He's establishing 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:16.100 himself as the one who is speaking, who is creating 00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:19.059 the covenant and the parties here are involved, 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:22.179 Abraham. And he says, go from your country and 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:23.899 your kindred and your father's house to the land 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:26.059 that I will show you. There's an imperative. 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:28.840 And I will make of you a nation and I will bless 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:31.379 you and make your name great so that you will 00:13:31.379 --> 00:13:36.759 be a blessing. There's that blessing. By the 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:38.259 way, I didn't mention the blessing in chapter 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:42.039 nine. It's there also. But you have this blessing, 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:44.659 you have this threefold structure again. Who's 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:47.220 in charge? What's the imperative? Then there's 00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:51.360 the blessing right there in chapter 12. But specifically, 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:55.019 it says this, right? I will bless those who bless 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:57.460 you and him who dishonors you. I will curse and 00:13:57.460 --> 00:14:01.840 in you, all the families, of the earth shall 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:08.500 be blessed." Again, the scope of the Abrahamic 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:12.779 covenant is not just Abraham and his people. 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.259 It was never intended to be just Abraham and 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:17.940 his people. I'll just call you to myself and 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:19.759 we can just kind of have a little holy huddle 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:21.879 here. That's not how it works. It's never how 00:14:21.879 --> 00:14:24.519 it works. The scope is all of the nations of 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.019 the earth. Just like the scope of the Noahic 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:30.669 covenant was the entire created. reality of what 00:14:30.669 --> 00:14:36.409 God had done in creation initially. Now, I did 00:14:36.409 --> 00:14:39.090 say that there's a lot of different interesting 00:14:39.090 --> 00:14:43.669 passages that we could look to in looking at 00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:46.490 the Abrahamic covenant, but if you actually turn 00:14:46.490 --> 00:14:59.460 to chapter 18, Gosh, I forgot to actually write 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:02.580 down which verse I was wanting you to see here. 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:08.899 I wrote it down here. It says, this is the Lord 00:15:08.899 --> 00:15:11.159 speaking, for I have chosen him, Abraham, that 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:13.379 is Abraham, that he may command his children 00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:15.600 and his household after him to keep the ways 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.639 of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:21.039 that's the ethics, so that the Lord may bring 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:23.960 about to Abraham what he promised. He's saying, 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:27.419 Okay, the commands are connected to the blessing 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:29.039 of what I've promised, which is the blessing 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.879 of the nations. And this is reiterated again 00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:33.700 and again. I'm just showing you one place in 00:15:33.700 --> 00:15:37.100 which this is said again. But what I'm suggesting 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:39.639 to you is, again, this covenant is created for 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.879 the sake not of just one person or not just him 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:45.559 and his family or him and his holy huddle, but 00:15:45.559 --> 00:15:48.940 for the entirety of the nations. If we come to... 00:15:48.909 --> 00:15:52.009 The Mosaic Covenant, what we see is a covenantal 00:15:52.009 --> 00:15:54.450 mission of presence and holiness. That's Exodus 00:15:54.450 --> 00:15:57.750 19, okay? We heard this from Don, but if you 00:15:57.750 --> 00:16:00.210 turn, Exodus is the second book in your Bibles. 00:16:01.409 --> 00:16:05.409 Exodus 19. I'm gonna read for you again what 00:16:05.409 --> 00:16:09.309 Don read for us. This is Exodus 19, verses four 00:16:09.309 --> 00:16:14.929 to six. It says this. By the way, this is when 00:16:14.929 --> 00:16:16.830 God had called his people there at the base of 00:16:16.830 --> 00:16:20.529 Mount Sinai. This is sort of the narrative that 00:16:20.529 --> 00:16:23.389 surrounds the covenant, the creation of the covenant, 00:16:24.250 --> 00:16:27.870 the Mosaic Covenant at Mount Sinai. Verse four. 00:16:28.830 --> 00:16:31.230 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians 00:16:31.230 --> 00:16:33.309 and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought 00:16:33.309 --> 00:16:36.250 you to myself. That's the establishment of, again, 00:16:36.389 --> 00:16:38.980 who's in authority here. Now, therefore, if you 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:41.519 will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:43.620 there's those covenantal obligations, there's 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.620 those imperatives, you shall be my treasured 00:16:46.620 --> 00:16:48.860 possession among all the peoples, the blessing, 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.179 for all the earth is mine and you shall be to 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:56.059 me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. That's 00:16:56.059 --> 00:16:58.460 what the Lord tells them there as they're all 00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:05.259 gathered as a nation at Mount Sinai. That last 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:09.410 part is mission. The entirety of the gathered 00:17:09.410 --> 00:17:12.630 people are to be a kingdom of priests a nation 00:17:12.630 --> 00:17:16.029 of priests What is a priest but a representative 00:17:16.029 --> 00:17:19.769 and a mediator? Which is to say their collective 00:17:19.769 --> 00:17:21.509 life together how they live their life how they 00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:23.769 talk to one another How they talk to outsiders 00:17:23.769 --> 00:17:26.230 and foreigners how they you know care for their 00:17:26.230 --> 00:17:28.230 fields all this is supposed to be a way in which 00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:34.710 other people See God through their life Christopher 00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:37.500 right Wrote in his great book the mission of 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:40.880 God as the people of Yahweh the Old Testament 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:45.000 named for God They would have the historic task 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.380 of bringing the knowledge of God to the nations 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:51.039 and bringing the nations to the means of Atonement 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:52.859 with God or another author wrote it this way 00:17:52.859 --> 00:17:56.599 Israel is a mediator she must bring mankind closer 00:17:56.599 --> 00:18:00.279 to God pray to God for mankind and an Intercede 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:03.539 for mankind here service to God in the name of 00:18:03.539 --> 00:18:08.150 others Israel has to bring God closer to men 00:18:08.150 --> 00:18:10.869 and bringing them God's revelation. They are 00:18:10.869 --> 00:18:14.210 a light and a good news to the nations. This 00:18:14.210 --> 00:18:17.190 passage is a missionary passage. Right here, 00:18:17.329 --> 00:18:19.630 this covenant that God is making with Israel, 00:18:19.630 --> 00:18:22.190 right there at the base of Mount Sinai, is a 00:18:22.190 --> 00:18:26.269 covenant that is for the sake of others. They're 00:18:26.269 --> 00:18:30.950 a kingdom collectively of priests so that the 00:18:30.950 --> 00:18:34.990 world would know who God is. Now so much could 00:18:34.990 --> 00:18:36.849 be said, so much more could be said about the 00:18:36.849 --> 00:18:39.769 sacrifices and the commands and all that comes 00:18:39.769 --> 00:18:43.809 after this in the Mosaic Covenant. But what I'm 00:18:43.809 --> 00:18:47.289 telling you is that again, just like we saw in 00:18:47.289 --> 00:18:49.029 the Noahic Covenant, just like we saw in the 00:18:49.029 --> 00:18:51.490 Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant is saying 00:18:51.490 --> 00:18:53.869 if you are in relationship with me, you're a 00:18:53.869 --> 00:18:58.150 missionary people. It's just who you are. Okay, 00:18:58.150 --> 00:18:59.809 if we get to the Davidic Covenant, which is the 00:18:59.809 --> 00:19:02.730 next one, I want to say this is a covenantal 00:19:02.730 --> 00:19:05.769 mission of rule and I'm not going to buy you 00:19:05.769 --> 00:19:07.730 to turn there. The main text that we have for 00:19:07.730 --> 00:19:12.569 the Davidic covenant is 2nd Samuel 7 and I feel 00:19:12.569 --> 00:19:14.049 like I have to explain this a little more because 00:19:14.049 --> 00:19:17.809 it's not quite as clear. But David was set as 00:19:17.809 --> 00:19:22.349 the king, the ruler over God's covenantal people 00:19:22.349 --> 00:19:25.769 and God makes a particular covenant with that 00:19:25.769 --> 00:19:29.210 ruler and specifically it's because he is a man 00:19:29.210 --> 00:19:32.799 after God's own heart. Which is to say he is 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:37.680 to represent God to his people as they represent 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:43.460 God to the nations, okay? This is why in texts 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:46.579 like Psalm 2 you can talk about the the universal 00:19:46.579 --> 00:19:50.940 reign of King David Or in Psalm 72 we can read 00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:53.640 things like this all nations will be blessed 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:57.539 through him All nations will be blessed through 00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:01.299 him Because a king in the line of David, who 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:03.220 was to rule with justice and righteousness over 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:06.220 his people, would be the means through which 00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:08.440 the promise of the nations would come about. 00:20:09.259 --> 00:20:11.160 Think of Isaiah writing later on, actually a 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.380 few hundred years after David. Isaiah says this, 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:17.599 incline your ear and come to me, hear that your 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:20.599 soul may live, and I will make with you an everlasting 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:24.420 covenant, my steadfast sure love for David. Talking 00:20:24.420 --> 00:20:27.380 about the Davidic covenant. Behold, I made him 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:30.740 a witness to the peoples, a leader and a commander 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:33.059 to the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:35.099 that you do not know, and a nation that did not 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:38.599 know you shall run to you." How that new Davidic 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:41.759 king reigns is for the sake of the nations knowing 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:47.480 God. So the scope of the Davidic covenant is 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:49.279 not just the people of God. It's not just David. 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:53.519 It's for the nations. All right, the new covenant. 00:20:53.849 --> 00:20:56.569 which I'll title, A Covenantal Mission of Renewal 00:20:56.569 --> 00:21:00.650 by the Spirit. The final Old Testament covenant 00:21:00.650 --> 00:21:03.329 is what is oftentimes known as the New Covenant, 00:21:03.650 --> 00:21:06.130 and it's spoken of specifically in Jeremiah as 00:21:06.130 --> 00:21:07.869 the name of a covenant, but it's also mentioned 00:21:07.869 --> 00:21:09.650 in Ezekiel and some of the other prophets, but 00:21:09.650 --> 00:21:11.910 primarily Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And it talks 00:21:11.910 --> 00:21:14.150 about the time when the Spirit of God would come 00:21:14.150 --> 00:21:17.230 and do this renewal work, especially the renewing 00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:19.450 of the people of God that they might be a witness 00:21:19.450 --> 00:21:22.230 to the nations. So the prophet Isaiah actually 00:21:22.230 --> 00:21:26.109 speaks at this time also, and he says, is it 00:21:26.109 --> 00:21:27.849 too light a thing that you should be my servant 00:21:27.849 --> 00:21:30.730 to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:34.109 back the preserved of Israel? I will make you 00:21:34.109 --> 00:21:37.690 as a light to the nations. When I do this great 00:21:37.690 --> 00:21:39.849 work, I'm gonna make you as a light to the nations 00:21:39.849 --> 00:21:42.990 that my salvation may reach to the ends of the 00:21:42.990 --> 00:21:48.420 earth. Okay. I told you, y 'all, I told you this 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:49.880 would be a little bit of a heavy, heady thing. 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:52.259 This is more of a theological sermon probably 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:54.940 than you're used to. A little teaching heavy. 00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:58.380 But here's what's interesting. If you take all 00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:00.359 this together, right, if you take the Noahic 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:02.599 covenant with its scope of creation, if you take, 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:05.819 if you take the Abrahamic covenant with its scope 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:07.819 of blessing to the nations, you know, if you 00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:10.779 take, if you take the Mosaic covenant with the 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:13.940 people of God being a priest, a kingdom of priests 00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:17.309 representing God to the world, If you take all 00:22:17.309 --> 00:22:20.210 this together, the new covenant and the reference 00:22:20.210 --> 00:22:23.170 to the spirit, and you go back to the beginning, 00:22:23.269 --> 00:22:27.630 what you have is, like Noah, God caring for all 00:22:27.630 --> 00:22:30.009 things. Right? If you go back to the very beginning, 00:22:30.029 --> 00:22:31.809 he cares about all this creation. He's speaking 00:22:31.809 --> 00:22:34.750 it and it's coming into being. Like Abraham and 00:22:34.750 --> 00:22:36.809 his covenant, you have the blessing of God over 00:22:36.809 --> 00:22:38.309 his people. That's one of the first things that 00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:41.410 he says to Adam and Eve there. He blesses them. 00:22:42.250 --> 00:22:44.390 He says, be fruitful and multiply and fill the 00:22:44.390 --> 00:22:48.250 earth. Like Moses, you have a life with the presence 00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:51.529 of God right there in the garden. God is walking 00:22:51.529 --> 00:22:53.250 with them. He's intending to walk with them in 00:22:53.250 --> 00:22:56.930 the cool of the day. Like David, you have dominion, 00:22:57.170 --> 00:23:00.089 but dominion that properly reflects who God is. 00:23:00.289 --> 00:23:02.730 Adam and Eve were to be kings that were after 00:23:02.730 --> 00:23:06.650 God's own heart, right? And of course, like the 00:23:06.650 --> 00:23:08.789 New Covenant, you have the Spirit of God hovering 00:23:08.789 --> 00:23:11.170 over the chaos and creating something lovely 00:23:11.170 --> 00:23:17.309 and beautiful that was once only death. And here's 00:23:17.309 --> 00:23:18.930 the interesting thing is that if you actually 00:23:18.930 --> 00:23:20.890 turn to the very end of your Bible not that I 00:23:20.890 --> 00:23:22.789 just gave you a cursory overview of the first 00:23:22.789 --> 00:23:24.990 few chapters of the Bible but if you go to the 00:23:24.990 --> 00:23:27.170 very end the last two chapters of the Bible and 00:23:27.170 --> 00:23:32.210 revelations what we find there is like Noah a 00:23:32.210 --> 00:23:36.089 new creation says a new heavens and a new earth 00:23:36.089 --> 00:23:39.529 like Abraham we have the blessings of the nations 00:23:39.529 --> 00:23:43.039 because they're In the new heavens and the new 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:45.440 earth, from the new Jerusalem, you have the kings 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:47.200 of the nations bringing their glory into it, 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:50.359 and every tribe and tongue and nation is present 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:53.519 there in the new heavens and new earth. Like 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:55.819 Moses, you have a covenantal statement of God's 00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:58.599 presence. They will be his people, and God himself 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:00.980 will be with them and be their God. And you also 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:03.440 read, the dwelling place of God is with men, 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:07.339 and he will live with them. Like David, there 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:09.279 is the establishment of Jerusalem, but it is 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:12.240 the new Jerusalem. which is the city of peace, 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:16.759 God's place of peace. But you also have the Lord 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:21.420 mentioned as the lion of Judah, which is the 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:23.460 house of David. You have him mentioned as the 00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:26.440 root of David being present. And like the new 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:29.779 covenant, this is all done, this is all brought 00:24:29.779 --> 00:24:34.299 about because the lamb was slain. I don't know 00:24:34.299 --> 00:24:36.750 if you're seeing this. But this is the great 00:24:36.750 --> 00:24:39.170 structure of the Bible. This is just how God 00:24:39.170 --> 00:24:42.930 works with his people and What I'm suggesting 00:24:42.930 --> 00:24:45.869 to you is the new the Great Commission is simply 00:24:45.869 --> 00:24:48.849 saying again and again This is what I do if you're 00:24:48.849 --> 00:24:52.150 part of my people You're a missionary people 00:24:52.150 --> 00:24:56.450 That is just who you are if you have been baptized 00:24:56.450 --> 00:24:59.410 and discipled and belong to Jesus you are a missionary 00:24:59.410 --> 00:25:03.200 people You are a sent people You are people that 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:05.859 go out and make disciples and bring others into 00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:08.279 the life of God the Father, God the Son, and 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:11.599 God the Holy Spirit. There is no other identity 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:15.400 for the church. You cannot opt in or opt out 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:17.720 of being a missionary people. It is simply who 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:22.019 you are as you belong to God. The people of God 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:27.180 are an apostolic people. Does anyone know what 00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:35.130 apostle means? Sent ones. The Apostles are the 00:25:35.130 --> 00:25:40.849 sent ones. And to be part of the One Holy Catholic 00:25:40.849 --> 00:25:43.190 and Apostolic Church, as the Nicene Creed says, 00:25:43.650 --> 00:25:47.450 is to be a part of the sent ones, the missionary 00:25:47.450 --> 00:25:57.109 people. You may have heard this before. The go 00:25:57.109 --> 00:26:01.809 in the Great Commission is not the command. The 00:26:01.809 --> 00:26:07.390 verb is making disciples, teaching them, baptizing. 00:26:09.230 --> 00:26:11.990 The GO is the assumption. It's the participle. 00:26:12.089 --> 00:26:15.470 It's the as you're going. Because it is an assumption 00:26:15.470 --> 00:26:17.809 that God's people are a going people. They're 00:26:17.809 --> 00:26:20.829 a missionary people. As you go make disciples, 00:26:20.970 --> 00:26:23.710 teach and baptize. It's assumed. It's what you 00:26:23.710 --> 00:26:27.430 do if you belong to Jesus. You do it in your 00:26:27.430 --> 00:26:32.900 mothering. You are going for Him, discipling 00:26:32.900 --> 00:26:37.880 and teaching. You do it in your coaching tee 00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:42.839 ball. You do it as a financial advisor. You do 00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:46.259 it in your environmental stewardship. I mean, 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:50.000 if the Noea Covenant says something, it says 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.299 that... You do it in your environmental stewardship. 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:55.200 And yes, some of you do it when you go overseas, 00:26:55.500 --> 00:26:58.380 because some of us are to be sent in long ways 00:26:58.380 --> 00:27:02.759 to make disciples. But it is simply who you are 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:06.079 if you are a Christian. It is simply who we are 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:09.579 as the Church of God. We exist for the blessing 00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:11.619 of the world, for the sake of others that they 00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:16.480 might know and worship Jesus. Now, okay, I told 00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:18.690 you way back in the beginning, of this sermon 00:27:18.690 --> 00:27:21.390 that is now coming to a close. That I had kind 00:27:21.390 --> 00:27:24.970 of two things I wanted to say. And that one is 00:27:24.970 --> 00:27:26.470 that the Great Commission was simply saying what 00:27:26.470 --> 00:27:28.230 has always been said of the relationship with 00:27:28.230 --> 00:27:30.490 God and his people. They are missionary people. 00:27:33.210 --> 00:27:35.589 But the other thing, I said there was another 00:27:35.589 --> 00:27:38.470 thing, and that is that there actually was an 00:27:38.470 --> 00:27:41.150 enormous change. This is like just the most normal 00:27:41.150 --> 00:27:45.269 thing to say and it's totally radical. And what? 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:49.259 Is that big change because I haven't told you 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:54.599 well quite simply the change is Jesus It's great, 00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:56.359 you know Sunday school answer kids. You didn't 00:27:56.359 --> 00:27:57.920 go to children worship. I'm gonna give you the 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:02.140 size glances Jesus God was always about mission. 00:28:02.180 --> 00:28:06.180 That is true And he was always about creating 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:08.519 a missionary people. That is true. I hope I've 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:10.640 been able to establish that for you this morning 00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:15.240 That's always been the case And I even would 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:16.900 suggest to you, I can't get into this right now, 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:19.059 but the Bible itself is a missionary document. 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:21.279 It's actually written constantly in the missionary 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:24.660 environment of bringing the nations to the Lord. 00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:29.500 But here's my point with saying this is a radical 00:28:29.500 --> 00:28:34.759 change with Jesus. These things are true because 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:41.759 we have a missionary God. Our identity is as 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.599 a missionary people, and even this text is a 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:46.700 missionary text because we have a missionary 00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:50.380 God. And His revelation of Himself, which is 00:28:50.380 --> 00:28:53.279 most clear in Jesus, shouts this loud and clear. 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:59.319 God so loved the world that He sent, right? Hey, 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:04.299 go! Go get them! Go make disciples as though 00:29:04.299 --> 00:29:08.519 the Father was first telling Jesus. Go and make 00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:14.579 disciples. Why do we see the fulfillment of all 00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:16.579 the great covenants in the Old Testament right 00:29:16.579 --> 00:29:20.079 there at the end of Revelation? But because the 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:22.519 lamb who was slain is right at the center of 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:29.700 it So, of course we see this reality of all these 00:29:29.700 --> 00:29:31.440 covenants coming to their fulfillment because 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:35.519 the missionary God himself is bringing it about 00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:38.720 Sent for the blessing of the world giving his 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:44.019 life for the life of the world, conquering the 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:46.799 world that once stood against him and bringing 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:51.000 it under his kingly, just, righteous rule. All 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:53.460 of that is found right there because that is 00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:58.619 what God does in Christ. All authority has been 00:29:58.619 --> 00:30:03.339 given to Jesus. And so the covenantal missionary 00:30:03.339 --> 00:30:08.900 people of God, our end is secure. But here's 00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:10.960 what he's doing. He's saying, you're a part of 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:18.160 it now. You are a part of it now. It wasn't for 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:23.339 my apostles just back then, but you are my apostles 00:30:23.339 --> 00:30:29.019 now. Your identity is a missionary people. You 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:32.099 are the apostolic people now whose lives, whose 00:30:32.099 --> 00:30:35.680 stories are unique, but the themes of your lives 00:30:35.930 --> 00:30:38.269 wind together in such a way that all of your 00:30:38.269 --> 00:30:42.849 life is to be making disciples, teaching one 00:30:42.849 --> 00:30:44.829 another to obey all that the Lord has commanded 00:30:44.829 --> 00:30:48.369 you, and blessing the world by your priestly 00:30:48.369 --> 00:30:52.410 presence and missionary endeavors. With that, 00:30:52.529 --> 00:30:57.210 let's pray. Lord God, this big overarching story 00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:00.579 How you create people for the sake of your world 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:02.460 and the blessing of your world God I pray that 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:04.920 we would live in light of that even now in the 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:07.119 nuances of our lives and the unique individual 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:10.880 stories in which you have Woven together to make 00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:15.039 us us God would we be a sent people? Right here 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:19.819 in Harrisburg and throughout the world That the 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:23.440 nations would see the glory the true God who 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:25.660 reigns over all things, who's committed to His 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:28.119 creation, to the blessing of creation, and who 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:31.660 has brought that about in Jesus. In His name 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:37.440 we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to Second 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:40.240 City Sermons podcast. We hope this sermon has 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:42.259 encouraged you to worship God and to celebrate 00:31:42.259 --> 00:31:45.119 the gospel of Jesus. Please consider subscribing 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:47.960 to this podcast and joining us in person each 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:50.829 Sunday at 10 a .m. You can find us online at 00:31:50.829 --> 00:31:54.009 secondcitychurch .org and on Instagram, Facebook, 00:31:54.289 --> 00:31:56.769 and YouTube. Thanks again for listening. God 00:31:56.769 --> 00:31:57.109 bless.