Sermon Tone Analysis

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.