The Lamb’s Reward: sermon notes
> most of us have never experienced a time quite like this; deeply unsettling, even frightening
> so it’s a good time for us to step back and look at the big picture
> passage that we just read: a description of heaven, when God will have restored all things in Christ and made all things new
3 things I want to draw from it, hope it will encourage you and stimulate you in your walks with Christ
1. The end of history is God’s gathered people worshipping Christ before the throne of God
> we don’t know what next week, or next year, or the next decade holds – but we do know where it will all end
for all of human history, God has had one goal in mind—a people for Himself, worshipping Him
* Westminster Confession – “the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever”
it’s what we were made for—to live in fellowship with God and to worship Him,
it’s what was broken at the fall,
and it’s what we’ve been restored to in Christ, and will be brought to completion in the New Heaven and the New Earth
* we all admire people who are goal-oriented, and who stay on task; who are willing to sacrifice for the thing they’ve put before themselves to do
well, God, it turns out, is terribly goal-oriented, more than anyone you’ll ever know – He’s had one great purpose since the dawn of time, and He’s been relentlessly working toward that goal
this goal is so important to Him He was willing to sacrifice that which was most precious to Him—His own dear Son
> and it’s because of the cross and the resurrection that we know that God will accomplish His goal—the decisive victory has been won, history has turned a corner, and now things are merely playing themselves out
there can be do doubt that this will be the outcome; whatever happens between now and then, however much longer it takes, it will culminate in this wonderful climax: God and His people together forever in the new creation
> so whatever may seem to be happening at the political our cultural level at our little point in time, to be a Christian is always, ultimately to be on the right side of history—because it is to be on God’s side of history
* I know someone who, when he began as pastor of a church, was asked: ‘what is your vision for the church?’
he answered: ‘people from every nation, tribe, people and language, gathered in worship before the throne of God and the lamb’
the question was nonplussed: ‘yes, but… what is your vision, for this church, now?’
he answered again: ‘people from every nation, tribe, people and language, gathered in worship before the throne of God and the lamb’
this leads to our next point:
2. God’s gathered people will be drawn from every people on earth
This has always been God’s plan, right from when He first began to carry it out with Abraham:
Gen. 12:1-3
The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 ‘I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.’
we find this as a repeated theme throughout the OT: God called the nation of Israel to be His people, but He actually has something much bigger in view:
Isaiah 49:6
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
> Humanity has often had dream of unity reaching across peoples and races – but ultimately: this unity can only be realised in Christ
and this is not an incidental aspect of the Gospel, but right at its core: God is reconciling a people to Himself, and, as a result, they are reconciled with each other – this the heart of the Gospel
> if you look at the arc of history: we see that God scattered people all over the world, and divided them by language—resulting in cultural divisions also;
but now in Christ, it is God who unites us once again:
Eph. 2:14-16
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Paul is speaking of Jews and Gentiles; but I believe he is also speaking of blacks and whites, Anglos and aboriginals and every other barrier that divides humans into groups
We are one in Christ; and one day we shall gather together before the throne in worship
but there’s a corollary: brings us to our third point
3. The church’s mission is to take the Gospel to every people on earth
There are many things we are called to do in this world as the church:
to be worshippers and thus to prefigure heaven here on earth
to love each other, demonstrating we are Christ’s disciples
to grow in our knowledge of God and of His Word
to love our neighbours, and to do good, manifesting the qualities of the Kingdom of God in this world; in particular, serving the poorest of the poor and those in greatest need
all of these are vital! none are optional
but the central mission of the Church is to make Christ known throughout the world
this is not to try and set one good thing against another – it is simply to keep in mind God’s great purpose for all of creation
> it is implicit in this passage: for how can there be people from every nation, tribe, people and language unless someone has brought the Gospel to them?
* the church has at times forgotten this:
CMS is 3rd oldest missionary society in the world (1799);
first missionary society was the Baptist Missionary Society (1792), founded by William Carey, often called “the father of modern missions”
but when Carey first proposed the creation of the society, one of the older ministers said to him:
"Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine."
but in fact: while God occasionally sends dreams and even angels to tell people about Christ—his ordinary means of doing it is through His Church—through us
> but this mission is also made explicit by Christ Himself
it was the parting command that He gave His disciples
He left – and left them with a job to do
Matt 28 – Great Commission
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
in fact: seems to imply that won’t return until job is done Matt. 24
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
> of course: the fact that it’s a job we’ve been given, doesn’t mean it’s just a job!
we are given a glimpse of Jesus’ heart in John 10; just after saying that he has come in order to lay down His life for His sheep, He says this:
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
the more we share Jesus’ heart, the more we will share His love for His sheep, including those that do not yet know His voice
- Each of us has a share in this – though of course what it will look for each one will be different
but the key point is this:
most of us are called to live faithful Christian lives where we are—loving our families and friends, doing our work well before God, serving faithfully in our churches, seeking to share Christ with those around us, growing in the love and knowledge of Christ
—but if we all did only that, as important as it is, the Gospel would never reach the places where it is not yet known
and the church in the places where it is weakest would never grow stronger
for that: some must be sent! some must travel across cultures and languages to make Christ known, and to strengthen His Church
in fact: all of us are here today as followers of Jesus today because someone else did that… unless you happen to be a native Greek or Hebrew speaker…
Cathie and I believe that God is calling us to the Netherlands for that reason: because the Church in Europe is weak and under-resourced, and we are able to use our gifts to help make Christ known in Europe
I don’t know how God is calling you; but I know that He’s given you a share as well – will you pray and ask God to show you what that share is?
[Conclusion]
I want to close by encouraging you with a story of some of Christ’s faithful servants
In recent weeks, have been made aware again of how deep racial strife goes, and also of the ways in which sometimes Christians have failed at being instruments of reconciliation
it is right that we grieve this
but also important to remind ourselves of the many godly men and women throughout the centuries who have brought heaven to earth by manifesting the radical way in which we are made one in Christ
probably never heard of Leonard Dober and David Nitschmann
they were part of the Moravian Community based in Germany in 18th century
they were only about 300 or so, but over 30 years, more than 200 were sent as missionaries all over the world
Leonard Dober and David Nitschman were the first two sent out in 1732,
they went to the Caribbean, to St Thomas, to minister to the slaves there
they lived amongst them, worked the sugar plantations alongside them, and began a small church there
When they left for St Thomas, as their ship pulled away from the docks Leonard and David cried out what would become the motto of the Moravian missions movement:
“May the Lamb that was slain receive
the reward of His suffering!”
By God’s grace, may our lives be governed by that same passion!