Psalm 67 | God’s Heart Beats for the Nations

Every human heart longs to be part of something bigger than themselves; something that carries meaning, even beyond the grave.

As followers of Jesus we get to be part of the greatest story ever written in the history of the universe: the story of God rescuing broken humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

New sermon series: The Great Commission: God's Heart for the Nations.

Psalm 67 - God’s heart for the nations.

Read passage with congregation

Psalm 67 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!”

Pray

Main Idea: God's ultimate mission is for all nations to come and worship Him.

God’s vision is for every single person from every part of the world to come worship him.

…that your way may be known on earth (v.2)

Your saving power among the nations (v.2)

Let the peoples praise you (v.3)

Let all the peoples praise you (v.3)

Let the nations be glad (v.4)

…You judge the peoples with equity (v.4)

[You] guide the nations upon earth (v.4)

Let the peoples praise you (v. 5)

Let all the peoples praise you (v.5)

Let the ends of the earth fear him (v. 7)

God's ultimate mission is for all nations to come and worship Him.

What do we mean by the nations?

Countries: 195 countries.

People Groups (Joshua Project) : 17,453 (Bambara in Mali, Banjara in India, Huichol in Mexico)

Unreached Groups (less than 2% gospel believing Christians): 7,398

% Unreached Groups: 42.4%

World Population: 8.00 Billion

42.4% of people in unreached groups: 3.40 Billion.

God's ultimate mission is for all nations to come and worship Him.

Psalm 67 is a God-centered vision where the nations experience:

The goodness of the Lord

v.2, “That your ways may be known on earth.”

The verb “to know” does not simply refer to intellectual knowledge. In Scripture, someone who knows the way of the Lord is someone who has a deep, personal relationship with God.

This individual not only knows about the goodness of God, but has actually tasted and seen the goodness of God. (Ps. 34:8)

He is a generous God who by his grace blesses us and makes his face to shine upon us.

He is a mighty savior. The Psalm prays that the nations would come to know and experience God’s “saving power.” Jesus is the Savior of the world.

Can you imagine living in place where you have no access to the message of the gospel of the grace of God?

That was the city of Ephesus.

A place living in fear - fear of the spiritual forces of darkness; fear of curses, fear of death. They sought rescue and protection through idol worship and rituals. But idols are cruel masters. The city in Ephesus laid in darkness and slavery until one day the message of the gospel came to the city.

The message: “Jesus has defeated the power of sin and darkness through his death and resurrection (signs and wonders)

The result was people forsaking idol worship and the destruction of their magic books.

Ephesus experienced the goodness of God through Jesus: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:3)

Psalm 67 is a God-centered vision where the nations experience first, the goodness of the Lord. Second, they experience…

The joy of the Lord

As the nations experience the goodness of the Lord through his saving power though the gospel of grace, the only proper response is joyful worship.

V.4, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.”

A heart full of gladness leads to songs of joy.

What fuels such worship?

He is a wonderful king who judges “the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.” (v.4)

He is a king and a shepherd. He is strong and tender. He rules and he guides. Let the nations rejoice!

Isaiah 25:6–9 “6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.””

What a wonderful picture (already and not yet)

Don’t lose sight of what is happening here. Theres is deep joy and satisfaction in Jesus.

But the reality is that not everybody can sing:

“He has made me glad.”

My sins are forgiven. My future is Heaven. I praise God, For what He's done.

Application: You can’t tell others about the joy of the Lord unless Jesus is your ultimate treasure.

Psalm 67 is a God-centered vision where the nations experience the goodness of the Lord and the joy of the Lord. Third, they experience…

The fear of the Lord

The psalm ends with the words, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”

The fear of the Lord can only be experienced in light of God’s grace.

Psalm 130:4 “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

“Godly fear flows from the sense of the love and kindness of God. Nothing can lay a stronger obligation upon the heart of God than a sense of, or hope in, mercy.” John Bunyan, A treatise of the Fear of God.

The fear of the Lord can never be understood apart from a personal relationship with God. The fear of God is the key that unlocks a sweet closer walk with the Lord.

“True fear of God is true love for God defined: it is the right response to God’s full-orbed revelation of himself in all his grace and glory.” Michael Reeves, Rejoice and Tremble: The Surpassing Good News of the Fear of the Lord.

The gospel sets us free from being afraid of God to delighting in the fear of the Lord.

God's ultimate mission is for all nations to come and worship Him.

We see this at Ephesus. Signs and wonders. Evil spirits were being cast out at the mighty name of Jesus.

Acts 19:17 “17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.”

Amazing Grace!

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.

Conclusion: God's ultimate mission is for all nations to come and worship Him.

How is God going to accomplish his mission for all the nations to come and worship him?

Answer: Through his people.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” (Psalm 67:1-2)

Psalm 67, encourages and challenges Christians to understand that being blessed by God isn’t just for individual gain; rather, God blesses his people so that the people of the world would come to know and experience the transforming power of the grace of God.

Abraham: …In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Moses: …and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6)

A kingdom of priests. A priest is a minister who represents God to the people and the people to God.

1 Peter 2:9–10 “9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

God’s mission is carried out by the church. We are followers of Jesus sent on a mission: make disciples of all nations!

There is a difference between mission and missions.

“Make no mistake, there is a difference between mission and missions. By mission, I mean the total redemptive purpose of God to establish His kingdom. Missions, on the other hand, is the activity of God’s people - the church - to proclaim and to demonstrate the kingdom of God cross-culturally to the world.” Avery T. Willis Jrl, Henry T. Blackaby. On Mission With God: Living God’s Purpose For His Glory

Missions. The work of God’s people (the church) to proclaim Jesus, make disciples, and plant new churches. This term is often used in reference to carrying out these activities cross-culturally. Nathan Sloan, You Are Sent: Finding Your Place in God’s Global Mission

We are called to participate in God’s mission:

“You may have thought you were saved just to go to heaven when you die, but God says, “I saved you to be on mission with Me to redeem a broken world. I’m bringing you back to My original mission, where you will participate in My purpose of redeeming and reconciling a lost world to Me.” Avery T. Willis Jrl, Henry T. Blackaby. On Mission With God: Living God’s Purpose For His Glory

God's ultimate mission is for all nations to come and worship Him, just as John envisions in Revelation—a multitude from every tribe, tongue, and people gathered before the throne, worshiping the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9-10)

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)

Speaking of Missions: Today we have a missionary among us. One who works in a cross-cultural context in Mexico. Please turn to you attention to the screen.