Part 1
‘The gospel momentum series’
Feature
5 minute 38 second read
At our Horizon ’24 gathering last summer, Simon Longden, National Director of Pioneers Australia, focused on four ingredients essential to the momentum of the gospel. These inspirational talks challenged us as a mission to keep pioneering and to keep rooted in Christ. We will share extracts in our four issues of Link this year.
I don’t believe Pioneers has a hope of making any lasting impact without these four essentials. I’ve heard it said, that evangelicals spend 100 times more effort sharing the gospel with people in places that already have access to it; yet “unreached” peoples, when they hear the gospel, are 50 times more responsive to the Word of God. Why is there such an impact when people hear the gospel? Because the momentum of the gospel is in its words. The gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
If God has spoken, there is nothing more important than to listen to what he has said.
The enemy of your soul will do everything he can to distract you and me from engaging with the Bible. But the Bible is key to gospel momentum and church-planting movements.
God has revealed himself in many ways: through history; by means of dreams, visions and appearances; through miracles; supremely through the Lord Jesus Himself (when you see Jesus, you see God!); through the counsel of His people; and so on. In Psalm 19, we see the revelation of God in the skies (v1-6), in the Scriptures (v7-11), and importantly, in the response of the psalmist (v12-14).
First, this revelation is continual (v1-2). When you think about it, there is not a split second when God is not revealing Himself in the skies. Second, this revelation is also universal. It’s not only constant, it’s everywhere (v3-4). There is no place anywhere that God does not reveal Himself in the skies. Every person with mission experience knows how difficult it is to communicate across linguistic barriers. If you don’t have the language, you just can’t communicate effectively. But everybody who has eyes to see has the capacity to sense God in the skies.
The sunrise is like a bridegroom emerging from his home on his wedding day (v5). Isn’t that interesting! Have you noticed that throughout the Bible, unlike today, the main character at a wedding is the groom… not the bride! The groom is the centre of attention. That’s why the Church is the bride of Christ. The groom receives the glory. So, here is the groom, the main person at the wedding, in his best clothes, young, strong, handsome – that’s what the sunrise is like. And he comes out of his pavilion “like a champion to run his course”. Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset. Day unto day unto day. It’s continuous. And nothing is hidden from its heat. It’s universal.
There is a story that during the French Revolution in the late 1700s, a period of massive political and societal change in France, Maximilien Robespierre said to a simple Christian peasant, “We will destroy your churches and pull down your steeples, so you’ll have nothing to remind you of your vain superstitions”. The peasant replied, “But sir, what will you do with the sun, the moon and the stars?” Because there is a revelation of God in the skies.
At this point, you immediately notice a change in the vocabulary. In v1, ‘the heavens declare the glory of God.’ “God” normally translates El or Elohim. Any god could be called El or Elohim. But in v7, ‘the law of the LORD is perfect’. LORD in upper case it translates YAHWEH or Jehovah. And you find it repeated in this psalm from this point on. Twice in v7, twice in v8, twice in v9, and once in v14. What is David saying? He is saying that the God who inscribed His name across the face of the universe is the God who inspired this book. The Elohim of the universe is the YAHWEH of the Bible. God who made that, wrote this. That’s spine-tingling. And gospel momentum depends on how we handle it. Our way forward, our missiology, must be centred on this revelation of God from God... or it will come to nothing.
You’ll notice there are six names and seven qualities listed, and, importantly, six things the Bible will do for you and for Pioneers (v7-11). The Word of God will…
Refresh the soul. The same clause is used in Psalm 23. He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. Read the Bible deliberately, so that it sinks in. When we do, we are refreshed.
Make wise the simple. It won’t make you more intelligent. But it will make you wise. I’ve seen brilliant people make foolish decisions, and some high-profile Christians make headlines for all the wrong reasons. And I’ve seen very ordinary followers of Jesus make wise decisions, because their priorities are founded on the whole counsel of God.
Give joy to the heart. Joyfulness is evidence of your walk with the Lord. The fruit of the Spirit is love… then… joy. Obviously love comes first, but next is joy. Next time you’re reading the Book of Acts note how often joy occurs in the text. It’s a sub-theme. A victorious church is a joyful church. A Bible-reading believer is a joyful believer.
Give light to the eyes. Again, you get the impression the psalmist is saying this means it will raise your IQ, make you smart. But it’s not saying that. What it literally says is the Bible will give you “bright eyes”. You can generally tell how a person is feeling by looking at their eyes. If they’re glazed over or dull, the person may not be well. If they’re shiny and bright, it’s a sign of health.
And we find warning and reward as we apply the Word of God in our lives and ministries.
Now, tucked away in the middle of all this discussion is v10. “They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb”. Gold reflects materialism, the pursuit of things. Honey illustrates the pursuit of pleasure, hedonism. Two great blights on world Christianity are materialism and hedonism. But the Word of God is more precious than gold and sweeter than honey!
“The peasant replied, ‘But sir, what will you do with the sun, the moon and the stars?’ Because there is a revelation of God in the skies”.
What is the psalmist saying? He’s saying nothing is better than the enduring, enlightening, wisdom-promising, refreshing, joy-inspiring Word of God. The very message a lost world craves. But listening is not enough.
Your response to the Word of God is supremely important, hence…
Secret sins. Wilful sins. Why spoil this wonderful psalm by talking about sin? Because your response to the Word of God opens up your heart to God. And when you open your heart to God the first thing you see is your sin.
Brothers and sisters, if we are open on the Godward side, open to the Scriptures, our first response is, “I am a sinful person”. No pride. No self-exaltation. You see yourself as you really are. But God wants your heart. So, why is the response of the psalmist recorded here? Because the most important thing in the world is not just to listen to what God has said. The most important thing in the world includes how you listen.
Without the Word of God, we could spin off in any direction. Our handing of the Bible is key to what happens next through Pioneers. There are many important things to consider as we look ahead. But the Word of God is first and foremost! An unequivocal commitment to it, the feeding of our souls through it, and our faithful sharing of it to those lost and without access to it.
