Psalm 67: Aligning our Hearts with the Mission of God

Introduction

Opening Illustration: Chicago Evangelism

I love evangelism. And actually if you visit our Youtube Page you will see that I post videos of a number of our evangelism conversations that we have on the streets of Chicago. I do that intentionally because I want to equip you with the words and the ideas to share when you are in your own evangelistic conversations, whether that be on the streets or in your homes with friends and family. One lesson I have learned in evangelism is this, ‘Never take someone’s word that they are a Christian—Always probe further.’ Most of the people I engage with on the streets are not Christians. Some of the people I engage with on the streets claim at the beginning of the conversation that they are Christians. They check the box ‘Christian.’ But then I proceed to ask them a series of questions to discover what they actually believe. I’ll ask questions like, ‘Who is Jesus?’ ‘How does one become a Christian?’ Often those who are saying they are Christians have no functional knowledge that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, God in the flesh. Often they have no functional knowledge that being a Christian means we have repented of our sin and have chosen to make Jesus Lord of our life. One of my favorite questions to ask is, ‘Can you tell me about what following Jesus has been like for you?’ It’s here where I find my greatest heartbreak. Because I’ll find of two responses. On the one hand there are some people who when confronted with this question really only have negative things to say. “My parents were really overwhelming.” “I had a pastor in Youth Group who really burned me.” That stuff kills me. But others respond to that question with a confused look and no response, as if to say, “Following Jesus has essentially had no impact on my life.”

Personal

Allow me to ask you the same question, “Can you tell me about what following Jesus has been like for you?” What’s been your experience? Has he been captivating to your soul? Has he changed everything about you? Have your affections, your desires, your longings been brought into a new alignment? Have you been on the great adventure of following the King into battle? Have you come home bloodied and bruised, and then been bound by your fellow soldiers as you gathered together for ninety minutes of joyful worship on a Sunday, in order to be sent back out. Or… would you answer that question like so many I speak to on the street. “Following Jesus has essentially had no impact on my life.”

Context

Today we have our third sermon in our sermon series titled No Place Left. After selecting my text for this week, I wrote down in my notes, “My aim in this message is to produce a deep sense of joy-filled anticipation and longing to join the King in his mission.” This sermon series has been covering our new Vision & Mission Statement as a Church. As a reminder the Vision Statement is, “Proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to all people until there is No Place Left.” And as we discussed that language ‘No Place Left’ is taken from the Apostle in Romans. And our Mission Statement highlights how we go about this work. What are we doing to accomplish that. We: Make Disciples, Equip the Saints, Send Them Out, Spread Far and Wide.

We have spoken a lot about what we want to do. What we want to get after. Today I want to discuss the foundations, the presuppositions that must be true of our hearts if all of this vision is going to go anywhere. From this Psalm I want to show you two mindset shifts we must understand if this vision is going to amount to anything.

Mindset Shift 1: Your Blessings Have a Purpose

First, in this Psalm we see that Christianis must live with a purposeful blessing. We are in Psalm 67 today. This is what some have called the Missionary Psalm. I want to show you from this Psalm the Missional Basis of the Bible. Let’s dig in. Verses 1 & 2 begin this way.

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

The Aaronic Blessing - A Warm Glow

If those opening words look familiar and phrases look familiar to you it’s because those are often repeated words in scripture. They are known as the Aaronic Blessing. In the book of Numbers which was written well before this Psalm, the first High Priest Aaron, who was Moses’ counterpart looked over all the people of Israel after they had made an independent nation and he said:

Numbers 6:24–26 “24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

The writer of this Psalm begins by personalizing this Aaronic Blessing of God’s people. He includes himself as the one who has received this blessing. “May God bless us.” The imagery in this Aaronic Blessing is so important. When he says, “May the Lord bless you and keep you,” he’s not speaking “blessings” in terms of material goods. Instead verses 25 and 26 illuminate what he’s referring to. He wants God’s goodness and warmth to fall on them like a warm glow. He wants to live in the reality of their belovedness, that God is for them, therefore who could stand against them.

So That… Your Way Might Be Known Among the Nations

But look at how verse 2 begins, “So that…” May we receive this warm glow of the Belovedness of God so that “your way might be known on Earth, your saving power among all nations.” The primary purpose of this Psalm is to reflect that grand storyline of all of scripture, namely that God’s people are blessed (recipients of the Warm glow of the savior) in order to be a blessing and help others experience that warmth. Blessed to be a blessing.

Illustration: Abraham - Out of Babel

This idea of “blessed to be a blessing” is a theme that winds its way all through the Scriptures. When God first called a people for his own possession after the Flood, he called Abraham. Abraham is the Father of God’s people. When God called Abraham he spoke very directly about this

Genesis 12:1–3 “1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

Blessed by God in order to bless the nations. Why did God call Abram? Why did he establish his family as a nation under God. It was so that the peoples of the world would come to know God.

Illustration: Deuteronomy 4 and the Law

When the Jewish people were given the 10 commandments and the entire Mosaic Law. Certainly the reason for the Mosaic law was so that they would know how to live lives that honor God in submission to his law. But there was another reason. In Deuteronomy 4:5-8 we read:

Deuteronomy 4:5-8 “5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?”

God’s people were to live in such a way that honored God, their morality and their code of ethics would be so beautiful and compelling, that when the nations looked in on them the nations would say and be forced to recognize that something was different about them. The law itself was a blessing. It gave them life. Obedience to God is always a blessing. Far from the modern idea that “obedience to authority is some kind of a buzzkill,” followers of Christ cherish God’s law, and live in joyful submission to his law because it is through His law that we honor the King. And as we do so we make the eyes of the godless lawless secular world take notice of the joy within.

Closing

Let me close this first idea out by asking you very specifically about the blessings in your life and how you see them? As a follower of Christ, the greatest blessing in your life is the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The knowledge that God has not only saved you in Christ, but he has secured you. But then he has given each of us varying types and degrees of blessings, exorbitant amounts of grace poured into our lives. Too many to count. Have you lived with a purposeful blessing mindset.

Mindset Shift 2: A God-like affection to establish Christ’s Kingdom on this Earth

Secondly in this text we see that the follower of the God of the Bible has an affection change. The more we get to know God the more we find ourselves wrapped up in Him, in His mission, in His Kingdom. There is a modern hypocricy in the Church that tries to separate worship and mission. As if we could have Christians that worship God but do not join in on the mission of God. That’s impossible. The heart of a Christian beats increasingly for the heart of God. The Psalmist goes on to describe that which drives our affections.

Psalm 67:3–7 “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. Selah 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!”

Big Picture: Known, Praised, Enjoyed, Feared

Big picture looking at this Psalm there are four desires this Psalmist has of the nations.

A Desire for the Earth to KNOW God’s: verse 2—"That your way may be known on the earth." The Psalmist is not content with people around the globe who knowledge of God. Is there a pity that wells up in your heart when you think of those around you that truly do not know God. Do you see that this is not simply an act of obedience. There is first an inner affection change, where you begin to see the world through the eyes of God, through the lens of Scripture. A lost individual, facing an eternity in hell, stirs your soul to desire them to know the wonders of the grace of the gospel.

A Desire for the peoples to PRAISE God: verse 3—"Let the peoples praise thee, O God; Let all the peoples praise thee." Again, this is an affection change. It is not just that we come into a room and sing to God, and praise God. Those are things Christian do joyfully. Those are things that are natural responses for Christians. But here, the affection change is that a deep longing for peoples of the world to share in praise alongside you. It is to read Revelation 7:9-10

Revelation 7:9-10 “9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””

Do you want that? Do you bleed for that?

A Desire for the nations to ENJOY God: verse 4—"Let the nations be glad and sing for joy." it’s not just that the Psalmist wants the nations to know God and to praise God, but he wants them to find great delight and joy in God as well. The aim is not to build an army of begrudging followers of Christ, but rather of joy filled saints who have truly tasted of the Lord and can say, “I once was lost and now am found.”

A Desire for the nations to FEAR God verse 7—"That all the ends of the earth may fear him." Lastly, is for God to be feared. This means that on top of all of this, he wants the nations to know God as he truly is. Not as a pet, or as a hobby, but as the sovereign Lord over all of creation. As that sovereign God he is to be feared, deeply respected, deeply admired. This is a humble acknowledgement of God’s superiority and greatness.

Wrapping Up This Section

These verses show that the heart of a Christian is wrapped up in the work that God is doing to win for himself a people from every tongue, tribe, nation, and language. We could make this an entire Global message, talking about the nations. Certainly, that is at the heart of this Psalm. But when we speak of the nations, we must realize that we ourselves are included in those nations. And this Psalm drives us to the realization that when God has gotten a hold of our souls. When we have experienced the fullness of the gospel. We realize that gospel is not just a message of personal salvation and personal identity in Christ. That very same Gospel then changes our affections and stirs us to live missionally with God wherever we are. When you think of your friends and neighbors, are your affections stirred in such a way that you can honestly say, “I want them to be glad in Christ and sing for joy. I want them to know God and fear God.”

Illustration: Jonathan Edwards

There was a season in American history known as the Great Awakening that took place early in American history. This short time period was a remarkable season where the Spirit of God moved across an entire nation, drawking thousands upon thousands of people brand new faith in Christ, and thousands of thousands of others to a new deeper sense of resolve in Christ and fervor for the mission. Jonathan Edwards’ wife was one of the women who experienced this awakening. Here is an excerpt from Jonathan Edwards diary about the transformation in his wife.

an extra ordinary sense of the awful majesty , greatness, and holiness of God… a sense of the glorious, unsearchable, unerring wisdom of God in his works… a sweet rejoicing of soul at the thoughts of God, being infinitely and unchangeably happy, and an exulting gladness of heart that God is self-sufficient, and infinitely above alll dependence, and reigns over all, and does his will with absolute and uncontrollable power and sovereignty [and with] a universal benevolence to mankind, with a longing as it were to embrace the whole world in the arms of pity and love. [She had] a vehement and constant desire for the sestting up of Christ’s kingdom through the earth, as a kingdom of holiness, purity, love, peace, and happiness to mankind… The strength was very often taken away with longings that others might love god more, and serve God better, and have more of his comfortable presence… a compassionate grie towards fellow creatures—a dailiy sensible doing and suffering every thing for God… eating, working, sleeping, and bearing pain and trouble for God, and doing all as the service of love, with a continual uninterrupted cheerfulness, peace, and joy. Oh how good… is it to work for God in the day-time, and at night to lie down under his smiles.

Did you notice, how half of that description was about his wife’s newfound fervor in affection towards God. And the second half was his wife’s newfound fervor and affection towards Christ’s Kingdom. She loved God deeply, and what flowed out of her was therefore necessarily a love for the mission of God.

Cultural Lie

I believe that many of us want that experience. We can taste that experience at a distance. But many of us have never had that experience. It is not our normal posture towards life. And I tell you that until it becomes our posture, this sermon series will only ever be a sermon series that tickles the ear but never drives home real conviction, real change in life. How do we get from here to there.

Richard Lovelace

The author Richard Lovelace has a wonderful book titled Dynamics of Spiritual Life in which he maps out the elements of living a robust spiritual life, not just inwardly and privately, but engaging the entirety of the gospel including the mission. As part of the full display of the Christian life, Richard Lovelace begins with what he callsPre-conditions to Revival. These are the elements that serve as the foundational principles that must get laid down in order if we are to see genuine Christian spiritual revival, both in ourselves individually, or in our communities. The kind of revival like what America saw in the Great Awakening. According to Lovelace if you build a Christian movement, and fail to build it on these pre-conditions, it is a shallow movement at best that will not last because it is missing the fullness of Gospel Power. The Pre-Conditions are as follows:

Awareness of God’s Holiness

His Justice

His Love

Awareness of the Depth of Sin

In Yourself

In the World

An Awareness of God’s Holiness

First, is an awareness of God’s Holiness. When we speak of God’s Holiness we are referring to divine uniqueness. To be Holy is to be set apart and distinct. He is the mysterium tremendum. He is the one to whom Isaiah found himself in the presence of God and cried out, “Whoah is me, I am undone.” God is holy. And until we know God as holy, he will only ever be a spectacle in our life, not Lord. This holiness must drive a sense of both God’s love and his justice. Since the beginning of the 19th century there has been a rebellion in Churches against the former ways of faithful churches and preachers who preached the fulness of God’s character. Since the 19th century preachers have done everything possible to tone down rhetoric that speaks of God’s justice. We have sentimentalized God. Richard Lovelace says that, “Many American congregations were in effect paying their ministers to protect them from the real God.” This resulted in a decay of Christian authority and power and a weak, powerless Church.

Love & Justice at the Cross

You don’t me to shield you from the reality of God. You need the truth of who God is, on His terms. If we do not understand God’s justice, we can never understand the Gospel at all. It is at the cross where God’s love and his justice are fully revealed in the death of Jesus Christ. At the cross, all of God’s justice is put on full display in the torturous crucifixion of the second person of the Trinity. And at the same time, at the cross all of God’s love is on full display as God extends forgiveness to all those who will receive the free gift offered to them by Jesus. If we forget to deeply reflect on God’s justice, then the cross becomes unnecessary. And if we forget to deeply reflect on God’s love, then the cross becomes mechanical and impersonal.

An Awareness of the Depth of Sin

But there is still another precondition. We must have an awareness of the Depth of Sin, both in ourselves and in the world. The modern ethic and ethos of the secular world we live in is that at our hearts we are generally good people. And what is most needed in this life is to get rid of all the baggage that hinders us from being our purest selves. The authentic you is good and lovely and perfect, and you have to find that inner you. This was strengthened by writings of men like Sigmund Freud (an avowed atheist with unbelievable evil and perverse notions) who put the science to to our new man-centered world. Freud believed that all religion was a fabricated mythology created to fill in mental deficiency. And his aim was to create a science that could do with away religion by revealing the inner you. This Freudian concept of finding the inner you has now even pervaded the Church.

Oh how far we have come from the truth. We have developed an entire man-centered world, and we really believe it. Unfortunately, the modern Chruch has spent exhorbitant time and money dragging that false philosophy into the Church. Here’s Bible for you on this subject:

Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Jeremiah 17:9 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

We don’t find salvation by looking within. We must receive salvation from outside ourselves. And then when you fully recognize your sin and depth of sin and wickedness before a Holy God, you experience true conversion of the soul, where we are told that God gives us a new heart and new affections for the things of God.

In the World

But if you look at Lovelace’s preconditions, it’s not just seeing sin in us that is a precondition to revival. We must see the depth of sin in the world around us. We must hate the depth of sin in the world around us.

Over 800 murders in Chicago last year.

A society and school system that is normalizing hyper sexuality in our youth and elementary students

A society and a school system that is incentivizing and promoting transgender ideology which has led to a drastic rise in the number of suicides and suicide attempts among adults and youth

Satanic statues of demonic pedophiliac false gods set up in state legislatures.

An orphan crisis, an abortion crisis

The list goes on and on and on. Does this melt our hearts with sorrow the way it melts God’s. Does this anger us, the way it angers God? And until we feel the weight of that, and the corruption and perversion of that, we’ll never fully understand the hope and the power of Christ’s defeat of Death. The hope of the world is not that somehow apart from Christ, they are going to get their act together. The hope of the world is that hearts of sinners find full redemption in Christ. See, our mission and our love must be rooted in the fundamentals of seeing teh world through God’s eyes. The hope of the world is that the nations around us, this city, would learn to fear God, would learn to enjoy God, would learn to know God, and love God. That’s what Jonathan Edwards was descirbing took place in his wife’s heart. And its what I pray takes place in this Church.

Closing out Richard Lovelace

I believe Richard Lovelace is 100% correct. These are the pre-conditions. And so I ask you whether these preconditions of revival are true of you? Are we so non-reflective a people that we cannot ask ourselves the most important question. Is my heart right with God, on his terms?

Closing

As we close out today I want to re read the final two verses of Psalm 67

Psalm 67:6-7 “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!”

God loves to bless those who follow Him in truth. God loves to pour his blessing out on his children. Align your hearts with God’s. We must learn to see the world through His eyes, and enjoy the mission that He is on. The Spirit of God is moving, if we are willing to slow down and get the tracks laid straight, I believe He has great work to do through this place.