Christmas Calls You to Mission.

Steve Gentry

[0:05] We’re going to have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] This is your first time here. [0:12] My name is Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:14] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:18] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to Matthew chapter 2.

[0:22] We’ll be in the where scripture is concerned. [0:24] We’re picking up right where we left off last week, finishing Matthew 1. [0:28] But last Sunday, we talked about the way that the Christmas narrative shows us the [0:34] faith required to follow Jesus. [0:37] We looked at the narrative of Joseph receiving news that Mary was pregnant. [0:41] The angel appearing to him, telling him basically that he had to live a risky faith in his

[0:47] life in order to obey the calling that God had placed on his life. [0:52] And Joseph, of course, chose faith over comfort. [0:55] And through that, he was part of the greatest story ever told because he chose to live [1:01] by faith. [1:02] This is an amazing example of the faith that God invites us to put in him through the Christmas [1:09] narrative and beyond.

[1:10] All of this adds up, though, to the mission for which Jesus was born to live. [1:16] In his earthly ministry, Jesus made the statement that he had come to seek and to save that [1:21] which was lost. [1:22] That’s a great summary of what Jesus came to accomplish. [1:27] And so directly after the narrative of Joseph in Matthew chapter 1, I believe Matthew chapter [1:32] 2 jumps to a narrative that reflects God’s mission to draw the nations towards himself

[1:39] for redemption. [1:41] A group of Magi or wise men, as it’s translated, were watching the stars in an attempt to know [1:48] the future. [1:49] This, of course, is a pagan practice. [1:51] But God, in a miraculous way, broke through their pagan practices to draw them to drop [1:58] everything and spend potentially years searching for the Son of God incarnate.

[2:05] And God used these men to give us a picture of his mission to redeem beyond the nation [2:11] of Israel, to redeem people from all nations, showing the power of God to save sinners [2:17] and draw them to redemption. [2:19] But in this narrative, we’re also going to see a picture of the darkness of sin’s deception, [2:25] as well as a really historic mission of God bringing himself glory through people living [2:31] to testify the gospel of Jesus even in uncomfortable circumstances.

[2:37] God wants Jesus to be found. [2:40] I think that’s maybe one of the overarching themes of this section of verses is that it [2:45] is no secret that God has kept who he was working through. [2:49] He’s working through God the Son. [2:51] Maybe you’ll hear someone give you a message through this Christmas season about, you [2:54] know, the secret message of Christmas.

[2:56] Anybody ever says something like that? [2:58] No, that you’re about to hear something probably heretical, and it’s probably not good. [3:02] All right. [3:02] No secret messages are involved. [3:05] You know, no mathematical formulations of the position of the star in the sky and all [3:10] this kind of nonsense.

[3:11] Change the channel when that happens. [3:13] Click close on the YouTube tab. [3:15] What I want to talk about this morning is the mission of God that’s shown through [3:20] Christmas. [3:21] I’m also going to, at the end of this, of course, give you our pitch for our annual [3:25] legacy offering that’s going to happen on December 21st.

[3:28] And so this is your first time here. [3:30] I’m sorry. [3:31] First word you’re going to hear out of me is asking you to give me money. [3:34] But it’s not for me. [3:35] It’s for our building. [3:36] We’re going to do that on December 21st.

[3:38] And I also want to explain just how this is going to further the mission of Jesus, [3:42] not just for our generation, but for generations to come. [3:46] Because the fact is that we have an opportunity to live out our faith in Jesus by bringing [3:51] all of our resources to bear so that we can leave a legacy of gospel centered mission [3:58] for future generations. [4:00] I do believe that God wants us to do that, and I do believe that we must do that in

[4:04] order to be faithful. [4:06] I think Christmas shows God’s power to save sinners, but it also reveals God’s invitation [4:12] for us to join that mission, living to ensure that this mission outlives us for the sake [4:18] of those future generations, that they will be drawn to worship at the feet of King Jesus. [4:25] I’m going to start reading in Matthew chapter two, verse one. [4:28] The text says that now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea and the days of Herod

[4:33] the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, Where is he who’s been [4:40] born king of the Jews? [4:42] For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. [4:47] Number one this morning, I want you to understand that Christmas reveals God’s mission to save [4:52] sinners. [4:54] Christmas reveals God’s mission to save sinners.

[4:56] And if you miss everything else about the narrative of Jesus being born of a virgin, [5:01] of Jesus coming to the earth, God becoming human being, if you miss everything else where [5:06] the application of that miracle and all of these series of miracles is concerned, don’t [5:11] miss the missional aspect of this. [5:14] Don’t miss the reality that God is showing us in a real and tangible way that he does [5:21] not want people to die in their sin.

[5:23] Rather, he wants to redeem them and he proved it by becoming a human being. [5:28] And that’s the only reason that he would become a human being. [5:30] He came to draw sinners to himself. [5:34] Now, Matthew chapter two begins well after the events of Luke two. [5:39] We cover Luke two and Christmas Eve. [5:40] You need to come to one of those three services to hear me preach briefly through Luke two.

[5:45] But Matthew two kind of skips over those events. [5:48] And so when Matthew one ends and Matthew two begins about one, maybe two or a little more [5:54] years have passed by. [5:57] So we kind of fast forward in this text to Jesus is a toddler. [6:01] He’s at home with Mary and Joseph and these Magi. [6:05] That’s why I say they maybe spent a couple of years pursuing him when the night that

[6:10] Jesus was born, they saw the star and they dropped everything to seek out the child [6:17] who’d been born. [6:19] And so after the events that we’re so familiar with in Luke two, we don’t know exactly when, [6:25] but this text zooms out from the particulars to show that God is doing something that is [6:31] larger than a local scale event. [6:36] He’s doing a global scale event.

[6:39] He’s drawing pagan, Gentile pagans from another nation to come and find the child. [6:48] Jesus Christ. [6:50] And so right there in verses one and two, we see this great picture that God is doing [6:53] something beyond the nation of Israel. [6:56] God is doing something beyond the city of Bethlehem. [6:58] God is doing something beyond Jerusalem.

[7:00] He’s doing something that is cosmic in scale and eternal in application. [7:06] And that is why God draws these quote unquote wise men to himself. [7:11] This is a worldwide event. [7:15] The point, if we look back at Matthew one, it’s this wonderful way that Matthew tells [7:19] the story from a Hebrew perspective is that in Matthew one, he starts by giving the family [7:25] tree of Jesus.

[7:26] And what’s his purpose for that? [7:27] He wants to show Israel. [7:29] Jesus is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. [7:32] He comes directly from the lineage that you would expect. [7:35] The one who is going to be the Messiah, the one who’s going to fulfill all of the Old [7:39] Testament prophecies.

[7:40] Jesus fits all of that. [7:42] And then he goes into these Jewish couple, Mary and Joseph. [7:45] But then in Matthew two, he zooms out and he says, but this isn’t all about Israel. [7:51] This is about the world. [7:54] God is drawing sinners to himself. [7:58] Now, history tells us that the wise men were not kings.

[8:02] I know you’re going to sing We Three Kings. [8:04] We travel afar. [8:05] All right. [8:05] That’s fine. [8:05] Sing that song. [8:06] Very biblically inaccurate, but go ahead and sing it.

[8:09] It’s fine. [8:10] That’s where God’s grace is wonderful. [8:11] We can sing dumb songs that aren’t rooted in scripture. [8:14] All right. [8:14] It’s just fine. [8:15] All right.

[8:16] Don’t act like Jingle Bell Rock is like a Christian song, but it’s okay. [8:20] I enjoy it. [8:20] All right. [8:22] But they aren’t kings. [8:24] Magi in this context were people who served kings. [8:29] And so what they would often be in any context in culture is they would be kind of a mixture

[8:34] between wise advisors and religious priests. [8:38] And these men were probably from the Persian Empire, history tells us. [8:43] Now, in the Old Testament, it’s important to understand that men like Daniel, if you [8:52] He was an advisor to the king in the way that he functioned. [8:57] And so some Magi, though, would seek to use a combination of astronomy and astrology [9:05] to understand world events.

[9:08] And so that’s what these men were. [9:10] And so they were not Christian men awaiting the birth of the Messiah. [9:14] They were pagan men using a quite clearly satanic practice to try to advise the king [9:23] in the way that he should lead in the future. [9:26] And so when they saw a star, according to Persian culture, that type of star that would [9:32] lead them in an astrological sense would be the sign that a king had been born.

[9:38] And what we understand through some verses that are going to proceed this is that these [9:42] men also were very they were they had studied the Old Testament. [9:48] And so they were adept at Old Testament prophecy. [9:51] And they said the star is sitting at this position. [9:53] And so this must be fulfillment over Israel. [9:57] And so because of what the Book of Micah says, we believe that this star is going to

[10:01] represent the king of the Jews has been born. [10:04] And God in his sovereignty is amazing the way God will save sinners. [10:08] God in his sovereignty will break through your psychic reading if he wants to. [10:13] And he will give you the gospel. [10:15] Now, that’s not an excuse for your satanic practices. [10:18] Don’t read the horoscope and expect to get anything out of it.

[10:21] All right. [10:22] But understand that God is so sovereign. [10:24] God is so powerful that he breaks through this pagan practice because he wants to show [10:30] us that he came to save sinners all over the globe. [10:36] God is revealing that their arrival shows that he’s doing something beyond Israel alone. [10:44] Now, Galatians 3, 8 through 9 shows us that this shouldn’t have been a surprise.

[10:48] Look at what Paul writes. [10:49] He says, Scripture, for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the [10:54] gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. [10:59] So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. [11:06] And so what’s Paul’s point? [11:07] Paul’s point is that the Abrahamic covenant reveals a worldwide mission to save through

[11:12] faith. [11:13] And so God fulfills his promise to bless the nations through Jesus Christ. [11:19] And the birth is setting the stage for this very thing. [11:23] Therefore, drawing the wise men to come and meet Jesus gives us a picture of this exact [11:30] purpose. [11:31] And so through that, we can understand that reaching the world has always been God’s

[11:35] plan. [11:36] The gospel of Jesus Christ, as I said, is a global work of God to save sinners. [11:42] And so before the crucifixion, God gives us this picture that will help us understand [11:48] the extent to which the atonement of Christ would be effective through these wise men. [11:55] As I said, God was not secretive about his work. [12:00] Theologian G.K.

[12:01] Beale writes that everything that God has done in the world from the book of Genesis [12:06] forward has served to show his mission to spread his presence all over the face of the [12:18] [12:18] And so God’s mission is to bring back the light of the world through the culmination [12:19] of his promise to do that. [12:22] And Isaiah 49, six is just one example of God making clear that he intended to do a

[12:27] worldwide look. [12:28] Look at what the prophet says. [12:30] It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob [12:35] and to bring back the preserved of Israel. [12:37] I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach the end of the [12:45] earth.

[12:46] Do you see the promises of God? [12:47] Of course, Isaiah, we know it was written some 400 or more years before the physical [12:53] birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. [12:55] God has always promised that he’s going to do a worldwide work because he has the power [13:02] to do a worldwide work. [13:04] That is why the phrase in Isaiah 49 that my salvation may reach the end of the earth

[13:09] is vital for the narrative of the wise men. [13:13] When you look at all 66 books of the Bible from an overarching theme, you see that from [13:19] the book of Genesis forward, it is about God spreading his presence, his power and his [13:26] purpose of redemption further and further over the world. [13:30] That’s right. [13:31] Three peas.

[13:31] I’m a good Baptist. [13:33] Power, purpose, excuse me, presence, power and purpose. [13:38] God wants to spread it all over the face of the world. [13:41] This was fourth P plan of God for his glory. [13:46] And so when we get to the wise men, we begin to see the story that will play out over the [13:52] rest of the New Testament all the way forward to yes, village church in 2025.

[13:58] The fact is you cannot understand why the birth of Jesus Christ is significant without [14:04] also recognizing that God is on a mission to redeem sinners by his power. [14:10] And he’s doing this to change sinners into worshipers, to give himself the utmost glory. [14:19] This is the mission for which Jesus Christ was born. [14:24] And so we can drift to so many different things that will rob our focus off of this. [14:31] So many things in this world, so many things that people will tell us is the most important

[14:35] thing right now for you to think about. [14:37] And if you’re not thinking about this right now, what are you a moron?

[14:40] And so quick for us to lose sight of the mission for which Jesus came to accomplish. [14:46] I’ve been studying this the past few weeks and looking at how I was going to present [14:50] this and I was just overwhelmed by the reality. [14:52] The mission for which Jesus was born was to save sinners like me and you. [14:59] I don’t know if you know this, but you’re one of them. [15:01] Jesus came to save you.

[15:03] And you should never tire of that. [15:05] You should never tire of the reality that God loves you to the extent that he sent his [15:09] own son to redeem you from his sin. [15:13] And when you realize that, you realize the mission of God in the world. [15:17] But then once you realize that you are a recipient of the mission of God in the world, [15:20] you also must realize number two this morning, Christmas invites us to join God’s mission.

[15:27] He wants us to take the news of what Jesus Christ did to the entire world around us. [15:34] But verse three kind of begins a darkness in the narrative that informs us of why the mission is necessary. [15:44] I hope you’ll see why in just a moment. [15:45] He says in verse three, when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Israel with him and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people. [15:56] He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. [16:00] And I love what is happening here.

[16:02] And this part’s free. [16:03] It’s not in my notes, but I love what’s happening in this text because you really do see the juxtaposition between belief and unbelief in this passage.

[16:12] Because believers, even if you’re in your sin, that moment of regeneration, you’re not troubled of the news of Christ. [16:19] You know, you’re joyous at the news of Christ. [16:21] A believer looks at the news that Christ has been born. [16:23] It’s like it’s like the wise men. [16:25] I got to drop everything and get there. [16:27] I got to search the king out.

[16:28] I got to find him. [16:30] But Herod receiving news from the wise men that the king had been born. [16:35] What is he? [16:37] He’s troubled. [16:38] Why? [16:39] The text tells us why.

[16:41] Because Herod is afraid that he’s going to lose his reign, isn’t he? [16:45] Here’s his way to king has been born. [16:46] He’s going to challenge my throne. [16:48] But you know, Herod wasn’t wrong. [16:50] Jesus did come to unseat his authority. [16:53] He came to unseat your authority.

[16:54] That’s the big difference between belief and unbelief. [16:57] Belief rejoices at the fact I am not sovereign over my own life. [17:00] By God’s grace, there is a God greater than I. [17:03] But an unbeliever looks at it and says, wait a second, you’re going to take my authority over my life? [17:08] You want to reign and rule over my life? [17:11] Herod says no.

[17:13] And unbelievers also treat the faith as way more complicated than it ever needs to be. [17:18] And I love the way that the wise men react. [17:20] The wise men see the star in heaven. [17:22] They say, good night. [17:23] We got to get there. [17:24] Very simple.

[17:25] I got to give my life to this purpose. [17:27] If God is that good, I’m going. [17:30] Herod, he says, you need to get me all the scribes. [17:32] You need to get me all of my wise men. [17:33] You need to get me all the statisticians. [17:35] Even the chariot mechanics.

[17:37] Get them in here too, just in case I need to go anywhere. [17:39] Gather everybody because we got to figure this thing out. [17:42] He treats it as the most complicated thing ever. [17:44] And the wise men are like, look, we just need MapQuest. [17:47] Can we get some ways, directions here? [17:50] We’re just trying to find the king.

[17:52] He’s not here. [17:53] All right, we’re out. [17:54] Then in verse five, they told Herod, they quote, Micah five, they say, in Bethlehem of Judea, [18:01] Or for so it is written by the prophet. [18:04] And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. [18:09] For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

[18:13] And this is what’s amazing is their unbelief was not rooted in a lack of information. [18:19] They knew the prophecy. [18:22] Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. [18:27] And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child. [18:32] And when you found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. [18:35] That’s a lie.

[18:36] After listening to the king, they went on their way. [18:39] And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. [18:47] Jesus brings a mission of light into a very dark world. [18:51] Now, I’m not going to cover the whole chapter today, but Herod’s purpose for telling the wise men to come back was quite nefarious.

[19:01] Herod said, I need to know when the star appeared, not because Herod was trying to find Jesus, [19:07] But because Herod was trying to form a timeline because any threat to his throne had to be exterminated. [19:13] And Herod set out to kill every child that was born from the time the star had appeared to the time that the wise men came. [19:23] It’s amazing the links that we will go to to protect our autonomy from the very God who created us and the God who wants to save us. [19:32] Just for some semblance of deceptive power over ourselves. [19:37] The wise men expected that this child whom they understood the Old Testament prophecy was pointing to, to be in the palace of the king.

[19:44] I mean, it’s only logic that they would think that way. [19:47] We got to find the king, so we got to go to the palace. [19:49] But of course, he was not at the palace. [19:51] He was in an inn being born in a manger and then he was in a home.

[19:56] Micah 5.2 is quoted, which is a fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 60. [20:01] Says in verse three, a nation shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. [20:10] Again, God was drawing the nations to the light of Christ. [20:16] Instead, though, of celebrating redemption, we get a picture of Herod’s trouble. [20:23] Sin deceived so many to think that the gospel is a threat to earthly power. [20:28] But of course it is, but it’s a glorious threat to earthly power.

[20:35] I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the history of humanity has proved we don’t handle power perfectly. [20:42] Things don’t always go great when we are in charge. [20:46] Yet Jesus was born not to just unseat Herod. [20:49] That is too small of a task for Christ, but to unseat all of us so that we will understand that there is a power that transcends humanity. [20:58] There is a sovereign King who is over all of humanity. [21:02] And Jesus Christ, God the Son, comes into this world flexing his ability to bend biology and history to his whims

[21:13] to showcase the love and perfection of His benevolent power on our behalf. [21:21] Yet sin would have so many of you settle for earthly gain over eternal treasure and glory. [21:28] You see, Herod couldn’t imagine anything better than being the King over a small rural region of the Roman Empire. [21:34] I mean, he wasn’t even like the Big Daddy. [21:38] He’s a small king. [21:40] But it also shows us that the very people who oppose your faith are the ones who need it the most.

[21:48] In this passage, you’ve got this great two examples, as I said, this juxtaposition of responses to the birth of Jesus. [21:55] First, there is, of course, the wise men, a group that sincerely seeks Jesus for worship. [22:00] But then you’ve got the other hand, Herod and his men who would reject Jesus simply to die in their sin. [22:10] And this is the plight of the Christians still, even in 2025. [22:15] The people who need Jesus the most are often the people who will be the most aggressive in opposing your faith, [22:27] the most aggressive in trying to impede the mission of Jesus from moving forward.

[22:33] Yet we know that this is the very reason for which Jesus came. [22:37] He came to save sinners. [22:41] And it’s the very deception of sin that so many need to be redeemed from. [22:45] But the tension of Jesus’s mission is for us is that those with the greatest need are those that will not just in a non tangible, [22:56] in a mystical sense, oppose him, but they are the people who will oppose us as we advocate for it. [23:03] They’re the very people who will stand in our way. They’re the very people who will vilify us.

[23:07] They were the very people who want suffering in our lives, who will want us to be expelled from society itself. [23:13] And what do we do in those moments? I will tell you what we do not do. [23:18] We don’t cower.

[23:22] We boldly proclaim the redemption that is available in Jesus Christ, even if they would call us bigots, [23:28] even if they would call us hateful, even if they would label us as intolerant. [23:33] They’re so tolerant until they’re intolerant of us.

[23:37] No, we stand and we boldly advocate for the gospel of Jesus Christ. [23:42] Why? Because that is what love does.

[23:45] We don’t oppose sinners because we hate them. [23:49] We oppose sinners because they need the love of Jesus Christ. [23:52] Don’t you know that that is why God didn’t tell you in his sovereignty who he was going to save? [23:57] If he did, I would ignore a whole lot of people. [24:00] I’ll be like, well, you’re out anyway, so forget you, buddy. [24:03] You’re just being mean to me for no reason.

[24:06] Now, God didn’t tell us because he wanted us to live as though all will be saved. [24:13] And so the fiercest person who will stand in my path, [24:18] God wants me to stand boldly in front of them when they deny Jesus Christ and say, oh, friend, he wants to save you. [24:24] Oh, friend, he wants to redeem you. [24:26] Won’t you give your heart to Jesus Christ and understand that when they say that’s not love, [24:31] you look at them in the eye and you say, well, who’s defining love in this scenario?

[24:35] You? Well, Jesus defines love for me and Jesus says you need him.

[24:41] You see, friends, that’s the difficulty of living your faith out in Jesus Christ is that God says that he is the Lord [24:48] and he wields his sovereign rule through my life as I proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, [24:55] not just that Jesus saves, but also that Jesus rules and reigns as king. [25:01] He is king over the whole world and he doesn’t need our approval to wield his power. [25:07] We must be bold with our faith for the sake. [25:14] See how you can get those two words mixed up?

[25:16] Sometimes my contacts get blurry. [25:18] We must be bold with our faith for the sake of those who are overwhelmed by darkness.

[25:27] See, there are people who have lived in darkness their entire lives. [25:30] They know nothing of the light of Christ. [25:33] And so it should be obvious that when you go into a dark place and you shine the light of Christ, [25:38] it is going to offend their darkened eyes. [25:42] And it’s only the grace of Jesus Christ that’s ever going to break through to them. [25:47] But God doesn’t tell us to hide the light.

[25:49] Look at John 1, speaking of Jesus, John writes, he says, [25:53] The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. [25:57] He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. [26:04] God didn’t hide this fact. [26:06] We’re telling people something that they don’t know. [26:10] Don’t assume people know the gospel.

[26:13] I have evangelized so many people that told me at the beginning of the conversation, [26:17] I know the gospel, I’ve heard it a hundred times. [26:20] And so I gave them the gospel. [26:21] And they say, well, I’ve never heard that before.

[26:25] Never assume they know. [26:26] They don’t know. [26:27] Most of them have deceived themselves into a warped view of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [26:33] But they need the power of the Spirit to break through in their lives. [26:36] The world doesn’t know him because of their darkness. [26:39] And how will they know him until we shine the light?

[26:43] It’s like going into a very dark cave that sunlight has never broken into [26:48] and finding a whole group of people who’ve never seen the light of day. [26:51] And God says, don’t hide the light because you’re their only way out. [26:57] But also don’t be surprised that when you shine the light, they get offended. [27:01] But we’re those people who build bonfires in very dark caves. [27:07] The wise men are as beautiful representation to us of an unbelieving world

[27:13] that will be transformed by the light of Christ when it is shown. [27:17] Jesus further promised in John 12, 32, he said, when I am lifted up from the earth, [27:22] what is he going to do? [27:24] He’s going to draw all people to himself. [27:27] Do you see the beauty of that promise? [27:29] Don’t assume you’re going to get rejected.

[27:33] He tells his disciples in John 20, verse 21, Jesus said to them, [27:38] peace be with you as the Father has sent me, even so. [27:43] Look at this. I am sending you. [27:47] So Jesus comes. He completes his mission. [27:50] He redeems me through faith. And then you know what he says? [27:54] He says, here’s my mission. Go live it.

[27:57] Christians must live with a sent identity. [28:03] We are sent into the world with a mission. [28:06] Jesus completed that mission in his earthly work. [28:10] Jesus actively obeyed God perfectly in his life. [28:14] Then he died for our sin because he had no sin of his own to pay for. [28:20] And then he rose from the dead, winning victory over our two greatest enemies,

[28:24] sin and death. He defeated both of them.

[28:31] And those are the two enemies that keep everyone in the dark. [28:36] But then throughout multiple passages in the New Testament, [28:41] Jesus looks to his followers and he commands us to live his mission [28:46] by telling everyone the good news of his salvation. [28:49] And then when they believe, we teach them how to faithfully live in his light.

[28:58] See, God has given this world his church, and he calls us the members of his church. [29:03] He says, you are the body of Christ. [29:06] That is not a difficult metaphor for us to figure out. [29:09] He’s telling us we are the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. [29:13] We are the mouthpiece of Jesus in this world. [29:16] We are the ones who further the mission that Jesus came and accomplished in this world.

[29:21] Therefore, the church is home base for his word, [29:26] for his fellowship, for loving other people. [29:30] And on and on, the church then gives us the means by which spiritual power in our lives grows day in and day out. [29:43] And so because of what the scripture tells us, [29:45] we know that the church is the foundational place from which missional living emerges [29:51] in a way that you cannot do without the church.

[29:56] I know some of you think the church is holding you back, [29:59] but when you let go of the church, you let go of the mission. [30:03] The institution of the New Testament church is where we disciple the next generation [30:09] to go and multiply more disciples in a way that we cannot do without the church of Jesus Christ. [30:18] And we must respond to his invitation to mission. [30:23] Because when you become a Christian, like these wise men, you do not go on with life as usual.

[30:31] No, you live to make Christ known. [30:33] His mission is now my mission. [30:36] And do you know where Christianity flourishes? [30:38] Do you know where it grows the best? [30:40] It’s a very simple thing. [30:42] Christianity grows when people take their faith and discipleship seriously.

[30:47] That’s the formula. [30:48] It’s not more complicated than that. [30:51] I was a student years ago of missiologist Alan Hirsch and all of his writings, [30:55] and they were very helpful for me in just thinking through how to live faithfully, making disciples. [31:02] And he says that people often are very confused about the context within which Christianity flourishes. [31:07] He says there are many, and I’ve had these conversations with people.

[31:10] They will tell me, do you know what the church needs? [31:13] The church needs some suffering. [31:16] That’s how Christianity will grow. [31:18] You know, my response is always to that. [31:20] You first.

[31:23] I’m not that interested in hurting. [31:25] It’s just it’s not a love language. [31:29] But they will say Christianity and maybe you’ve heard this. [31:33] Christianity grows the most in the most dire of circumstances. [31:36] Christianity flourishes the most, the most converts in the midst of suffering. [31:41] And what the church in America needs is some good suffering.

[31:44] Now, I’m not saying suffering’s coming. [31:46] I’m not saying suffering’s not coming. [31:48] I don’t know. [31:49] That’s according to God’s rule over history, not Steve Gentry’s view from the cheap seats. [31:54] But what I will tell you is, is I think that that is a very flawed view based on history. [32:01] Suffering does not equate growing.

[32:04] Suffering does not equate faithfulness because when you look in history, there have been nations and there have been great periods where, yes, the church was persecuted and the church grew in amazing ways. [32:20] There are places in the world right now where Christians are suffering and revival is taking taking place. [32:25] But also understand that there have been large periods of great freedom, of great leisure, of great ease, where Christianity has also grown and flourished equal to those periods of suffering. [32:40] And so what was the secret sauce of both of those contexts as polarizing as both of them are? [32:47] I’ll tell you, it’s Christians who took their faith seriously.

[32:55] It’s Christians who took discipleship seriously. [32:59] It’s Christians who took the call to proclaim the gospel to sinners. [33:05] Seriously, that is where the gospel flourishes. [33:09] That is where history finds us to grow the most. [33:12] Where Christianity does not grow is where people are nominally committed to their faith and their schedules are too full for discipleship. [33:23] You’re too much of a coward to tell anybody about your faith and you have a full schedule.

[33:29] So you will get to discipleship and commitment when you have time. [33:33] That is where Christianity does not grow. [33:38] And the question is, what will happen through your life?

[33:47] When people commit to a lifestyle of holding up Christ when I am lifted up before men, Jesus is always faithful to draw people to himself. [34:02] And so if you are in prison and you hold the name of Christ high, he will draw people to himself. [34:11] If you’re sleeping on a Serta mattress tonight and you hold high the name of Jesus Christ, he will draw people to himself. [34:19] If you live in a cave because the suffering is so bad in the world and you hold high the name of Jesus, he will draw all people to himself. [34:30] And if you live like me with a good heat pump and stay warm in your pajamas and you hold high the name of Jesus Christ, he will draw all people to himself. [34:41] It is not the circumstances you live in.

[34:44] It is in the focus of your life that the gospel flourishes in soul and society. [34:52] And so we must be the people who take that seriously so that the most people will come to faith, so that the church will grow aggressively, so that disciples will be made. [35:04] Because the contexts are always different, but the gospel is always the same, friends. [35:12] And we must take seriously our call to mission so that number three this morning, we can leave a legacy of mission.

[35:23] We must plan for the future of God’s mission. [35:26] Now, in Matthew chapter two, I believe verses 10 through 12 are the high point. [35:30] They’re the climax of the text. [35:32] I want to read it. [35:33] It says, When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. [35:37] And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.

[35:42] Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. [35:49] And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

[35:59] I love the New Testament. [36:00] I mean, I hope that’s obvious by now. [36:02] I love the whole Bible. [36:03] I’ve pretty much given my life to reading it and preaching it. [36:07] But I love it. [36:08] But I also love the ideas of what’s not in the Bible.

[36:12] And here’s what I mean. [36:13] I’m not going to give you heresy. [36:14] Don’t worry. [36:14] But what I mean by that is so the Book of Acts is this monumental historic text that records the outbreak of the gospel starting in Jerusalem and then moving to the surrounding world at that time through the apostles themselves. [36:30] It’s this amazing thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people come to faith in Jesus Christ. [36:36] There is a church planting movement that happens all over that region of the world.

[36:40] And that fascinates me the way that that works. [36:43] But then I think about some of the people in the Bible that I don’t really know that much about. [36:48] But the Bible tells me they went somewhere else. [36:52] And then that’s where their narrative ends. [36:54] And so the narrative of the wise men ends that they go to Jesus. [36:58] They are converted in the presence of Jesus.

[37:00] That’s what I think happens in this scenario. [37:02] They come face to face with God incarnate as a baby. [37:06] And then they hit their faces in worship. [37:08] No one says Jesus is Lord apart from the Holy Spirit. [37:11] The New Testament tells me. [37:13] And so these men are regenerated right there on the spot.

[37:17] And then through a dream, God says, hey, by the way, keep this from Herod. [37:21] Go home some other way. [37:24] And then it’s over. [37:25] That’s all I got. [37:26] That’s the Magi. [37:27] That’s the narrative of the wise men.

[37:29] And I love to just think through and kind of pontificate because when I get to heaven, I hope I have the sense to track these guys down. [37:36] Because I want to know what happened next, sometimes not knowing what happened next kills me. [37:42] And so these men, they go home to a pagan nation. [37:46] They are advisors of the king of a pagan nation. [37:51] They are completely transformed by the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [37:55] And I’m just asking myself the question, what about their wives?

[37:59] What about their children? [38:00] What about their grandchildren? [38:02] What about the king? [38:03] I want to know the legacy of faith.

[38:08] Because when I think about my future, what are my grandkids going to say about me? [38:14] What are my great grandkids? [38:15] What are my great, great grandkids? [38:16] Or am I going to leave a legacy of faithful mission so that my faith doesn’t die with me? [38:25] Because I want all of them in heaven. [38:28] And I’m going to order my life that way.

[38:33] I just want to know what the legacy of these wise men was. [38:36] And here’s the beautiful thing. [38:37] I’m going to find out someday.

[38:42] Psalm 96, nine reminds us that this was all about bringing people to worship God, worship the Lord and the splendor of holiness tremble before him all the earth. [38:54] God brought these wise men to do that. [38:56] And when the world comes to faith in Jesus Christ, this is what’s going to happen. [39:01] And God calls me to posture my life in a missional way so as to invest in the gospel that redeems so that we join him in a mission to see others redeemed. [39:14] And I don’t organize faith around the life I already have going on. [39:20] I organize my life around the change that faith brings to me through the gospel.

[39:27] And there are obvious ways that this needs to happen. [39:31] First, of course, we need to tell people about Jesus. [39:33] That’s obvious. [39:34] But second, we often miss the point in the Great Commission that tells us to teach others how to follow Jesus, to teach others how to worship Jesus. [39:44] And that is a generational command, friend. [39:47] We are called to invest our gifts into this mission for a return of more people worshiping Jesus and thus bringing glory to God.

[40:00] And so through the gospel, God doesn’t make me a lone ranger of faith. [40:05] No, he forms a community of worship called the church. [40:09] That’s what we’re experiencing right now. [40:11] And there are times when we forget the historic nature of the gospel, him redeeming people into his body, forming churches in real physical senses. [40:22] And that, of course, as I said, that’s what we’re doing right now. [40:26] From Sunday worship to community groups, to our homeschool gatherings, to discipleship groups, to village kids, to village students, to Reformed Baptist Institute for pastoral training and discipleship.

[40:39] And more and more as the years go by, everything we do as a church culminates in the worship of Jesus through the building of this community of faith, the local church.

[40:53] But here’s what I want you to understand. [40:57] Because of the church that God is building, there is an opportunity for missional legacy. [41:04] But it will not happen by accident.

[41:09] I wish it would. [41:10] That would be way easier on me. [41:12] My job would be so easy if I just drifted into it. [41:15] I have to posture myself towards it. [41:18] Because sometimes we only see the small parts in which we are personally involved. [41:24] And I know you get discouraged.

[41:26] You get bored. [41:28] Sometimes when all that you think about are the small parts within which we are involved. [41:33] If you’ve been in a discipleship group for any period of time, I know you wake up early in the morning for that group and you’re like, is there a point to all this?

[41:43] You’re like, oh, they’re still struggling with the same thing they were struggling with two years ago. [41:48] And trust me, if you’ve been a part of a community group, I know you’re asking yourself what’s the point of that sometimes.

[41:55] But here’s the key. [41:57] As a futurist, you probably haven’t read it. [42:00] But his name is Alvin Toffler and he wrote this. [42:04] He said, you’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things so that all the small things go in the right direction.

[42:15] The best way to never get tired of your discipleship group is to know that there has never been a wasted minute in your discipleship group. [42:21] Not in the big picture. [42:23] The best way to endure in that community group is to know that there’s never been a wasted moment in that community group, not where the big picture is concerned. [42:33] The best way for you to endure my preaching is to know that there’s never been a wasted moment here in this voice, not where the big picture is concerned. [42:46] Because God has made a promise that in everything I invest my time, my talent, my treasure into those small things where I’m saying, is this moving the needle forward? [42:58] God is saying, when you think about the big picture of the church.

[43:04] Yes. [43:06] All of it is building something bigger than me. [43:13] Bigger than you. [43:14] Yes, bigger than what you are experiencing in the moment.

[43:23] Second Corinthians 5, 18. [43:26] So helpful.

[43:29] This is the vision that I want for my life, and that’s the only reason I’m sharing it. [43:34] All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. [43:40] That is in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting the trespasses against them. [43:46] And hear this, entrusting responsibility, entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. [44:00] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. [44:03] That means that you are to be an outpost for the kingdom of heaven.

[44:08] You represent a foreign kingdom. [44:12] We are ambassadors for Christ. [44:14] God making his appeal through us. [44:16] We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. [44:21] Village Church exists because of those verses.

[44:27] The wise men, I believe, took the gospel back to a faraway kingdom, but as new ambassadors for an eternal kingdom. [44:35] Christians have to think bigger than themselves. [44:41] We have to stop getting so distracted by what is just right in front of us, whether we like it or not. [44:49] Because we often lose sight of the big picture when we do that. [44:54] We need to purposefully live out the mission of Jesus for more than just us. [45:00] And I think one paradigm shift that we’re going to see in Christianity that desperately needs to happen in evangelicalism

[45:09] is we have to get over ourselves and start thinking about our children, and start thinking about our children’s children, and then our children beyond that.

[45:20] Because when we think about mission, oftentimes we think nothing more than about faceless people that we’ll never meet and getting the gospel to them. [45:26] Meanwhile, in our own nation, we’re losing generations.

[45:33] I’m not trying to offend anybody by saying this, but over the last 30 years, I did the math. [45:42] Over the last 30 years, we’ve given more money to the mission of Jesus in evangelicalism than in the history of the church in the previous 2000.

[45:52] That’s a lot of dollar.

[45:56] And sometimes when I look at that, I ask myself, how’s that working out for us? [46:01] How’s that working out for us?

[46:04] I think one of the beautiful things about Village Church, David Wells, I read years ago, he’s a theologian, he wrote that a true church must be multi-generational. [46:14] And I will tell you, as a rebellious 29-year-old, when I was starting this church, I was like, whatever, I don’t need all the generations. [46:21] But by God’s grace, I look around now and I see children, I see parents, I see grandparents, and don’t think you’re kidding me, I see some of you. [46:28] You’re great grandparents and your great grandkids are here. You’re getting old. [46:32] I don’t know if you know this or not, but you guys are aging. [46:35] And I’m right with you.

[46:38] Amen. Amen.

[46:41] And it’s this wonderful picture of generational faith working out right in front of us. [46:47] And I’m not trying to make this large scale statement, but what I am saying is, for right here and right now, we need to rethink our investments. [46:55] And I want to, at least this year, I want to invest in the future generations of Village Church. [47:02] And here’s where I’m going to make a pitch very quickly for our legacy offering. [47:07] On December 21st, we’re going to take up our legacy offering. [47:10] We do it every year, but I don’t want to be deceptive to anyone.

[47:14] I want to, all my cards on the table. [47:16] This year, 100% of our legacy offering is going to go to building the next generation building. [47:22] Every dime. [47:22] Not a single dime is going to go anywhere other than in that building. [47:27] And I just want to be honest with some of you for that. [47:29] Thank you.

[47:30] Now, here’s the key. [47:32] We’re going to build it. [47:34] This is happening. [47:36] The plans are with the county and it has to go through 327 bureaucratic offices. [47:43] Before it gets approved, I think they even have some, some guy that like builds a toothpick model and he has to make sure that fits county specs. [47:50] I don’t know. It’s a lot of offices, but it’s with them.

[47:54] And once it gets approved, which we hope it’s soon, we’re going to break ground in the spring, the spring of 2026. [48:00] I’m talking a few months. [48:03] But here’s what I want you to understand about the next generation building. [48:07] Why would we allocate our resources right now towards that? [48:12] Here’s why in just a few bullet points. [48:15] First, the parents in here who send their kids to village kids.

[48:19] I’m so thankful for you. [48:20] Forty percent of our church is under the age of 18 and none of them have jobs. [48:23] That’s why I have to make this pitch.

[48:27] But our rooms are full.

[48:30] Every Sunday, the parents see that you drop your kids off and there’s a lot of kids in those rooms. [48:35] And I, as a pastor, never want any visitor to come into this church and thank to themselves. [48:41] There’s no room for my child. [48:43] I want them to go into rooms that there is plenty of room for all of the children that want to come every single week. [48:50] And I will tell you, the only way that’s going to happen is if we build a new building. [48:53] That’s just point blank. That’s the only way that’s ever going to happen.

[48:56] And I want village kids to see the investment that the next generation deserves. [49:00] Secondly, very quickly, on Sunday nights, middle schoolers and high schoolers, we averaged 75 middle schoolers and high schoolers. [49:08] It’s chaos, friends. I try not to go.

[49:12] I avoid it. I’m tired on Sunday nights. I’m like, nope, Jake, you got this. All right. [49:17] Because I remember 16 years ago, because I was the one begging people with teenagers to stay. [49:23] I’m like, please stay. We’ll have a youth group. You.

[49:29] But by God’s grace, now kids want to come here because of our student ministries. [49:34] And we need more space for them because we grow every single year. [49:38] People have been popping babies out for the last 16 years and rents do all right. [49:44] They’re they’re showing up. It’s like it’s like that no interest loan that compounded over years. [49:50] And you’re like, oh, no.

[49:55] We’ve got a steward, our teenagers here, man, I get out parents come to me all the time. [49:59] And they’re so thankful for the investment that we’re making. And we’re teaching them apologetics. [50:03] We’re teaching them the Bible. We’re teaching them theology. [50:06] These are future pastors in our student ministries. [50:10] But then also we need space for a foreign Baptist Institute. [50:14] We want to train pastors in our institute. And we already are.

[50:17] We want you to be discipled in the mind in our institute. And you already are. [50:22] But we need classroom space for that to happen. [50:25] Every Wednesday, almost 120 to 140 kids that are homeschooled show up here for a chapel. [50:33] They show up here. We I don’t know some of you don’t know this. [50:35] We teach Bible classes every Wednesday, every other Wednesday and have PE every other Wednesday here at Village Church. [50:42] And we’re maxed out on space with that.

[50:45] God has blessed us with the next generation. [50:47] And I think he’s telling us to invest in the next generation to make disciples who make disciples to make disciples. [50:54] So what am I telling you? [50:57] We need two hundred fifty thousand dollars right now. [51:01] Point blank. We need two hundred fifty thousand dollars. [51:04] This is going to be a larger capital campaign that we’re going to start in the summer.

[51:08] Where we’re going to have those pretty videos people like and those nice little shiny pamphlets that you can take home. [51:14] We’re going to have that. But I will tell you to break ground on this building. [51:18] We’re in a great financial footing that we can start without having it already. [51:23] But what do we need to be in a really good financial financial place? [51:26] We need two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in this offering. [51:29] And now why would I say something like that?

[51:31] Last year in our legacy offering we took up just under two hundred thousand dollars. [51:38] And so this is a very doable goal. [51:41] But we have to do it to reach the goal. [51:45] Now I did some math. [51:46] I got my old school abacus out and I did some math. [51:51] All right.

[51:53] I’m mathed that if two hundred and fifty people, which by the way, that’s more adults. [51:59] Excuse me. That’s less adults than we’ve had in one service today. [52:03] If two hundred and fifty people give a thousand dollars. [52:06] Boom. We got it. We got it. [52:08] Do you know that two hundred and fifty times that’s two hundred fifty thousand. [52:11] All right. I found that out.

[52:14] Now for some of you, that’s going to be a stretch. [52:17] I say this fully knowing that that’s going to be a stretch. [52:21] For some of you, that’s not a stretch at all. [52:25] And so for those of you that’s not a stretch at all, you need to make up for the people who it is a stretch for. [52:32] So one thousand dollars is too small of a dream for you. [52:35] You need to give way, way, way more than that.

[52:43] Which means that when you start writing the check, all right, God’s going to be like, no more. [52:49] Another zero. All right. [52:51] I just feel I’m not a charismatic, but I feel the spirit, man. [52:56] He’s just speaking through me. [52:58] It’s the first charismatic utterance I’ve ever had. [53:01] All right.

[53:03] That’s a joke. [53:04] Some viewers Steve became a charismatic. [53:08] No, he didn’t. [53:10] All jokes aside, what I’m going to ask for you to do, and this is serious, [53:16] between today and December 21st, I just want you to seek the face of the Lord. [53:23] And I want you to ask God, God, where can I stretch?

[53:27] Where can I sacrifice? [53:29] Because this is above and beyond our budget. [53:31] This is above and beyond your normal tithes and offerings is what I’m saying. [53:36] And on December 21st, I’m going to make a plea for you to give on that day. [53:41] And I’m trusting that God’s going to provide. [53:44] This is the first part of our capital campaign.

[53:47] Over the next three years, we need to raise about $1.5 million total [53:51] to be in a really great financial place where building buildings is concerned. [53:56] And I have no doubt we can do it. [53:58] This is the first time we’ve ever. [53:59] Can you believe that in 16 years is the first time we’ve ever done this? [54:03] God’s so good.

[54:05] But we need to do it. [54:07] And so on December 21st, we’re going to take up the legacy offering. [54:11] And I believe that we can do that. [54:15] But we need to shift our understanding. [54:18] From mission being about what benefits me. [54:23] What do I get?

[54:25] To where we start thinking, what is going to benefit future generations of Village Church? [54:30] Because that’s where I want to start thinking. [54:32] This might sound selfish to you, but I think maybe some of you will get this.

[54:38] I want to be able to just someday stand out there and point to a building. [54:46] And say, I was part of that. [54:48] And that’s for my grandkids.

[54:51] Don’t you want to be able to do that? [54:54] I want to build like an Old Testament Ebenezer so that our kids and our grandkids know [54:59] they trusted God and they stewarded their resources wisely. [55:04] Yes, Matthew 2 reveals the global scope of God’s mission. [55:08] He’s bringing the nations to himself. [55:11] And we can be part of that by building right here for the sake of the world.

[55:18] For the good of the next generation. [55:21] And always for the glory of God. [55:24] A few application points I know have been long winded. [55:28] First, answer God’s call to live the mission of Jesus. [55:31] It’s not for a select group of super Christians to live his mission. [55:36] It’s for all of us.

[55:39] Secondly, order your life around faith in Jesus. [55:43] He wants all of you. [55:45] Third, take the light of Christ to sinners in the dark. [55:49] Friends, that can be scary. [55:51] It can be challenging. [55:52] Trust me, I get vilified all the time sharing the gospel.

[55:56] But I just know that the people that oppose me the most are the people that need God’s forgiveness the most.

[56:04] And then finally, leave a legacy of faith for the sake of future generations. [56:11] Not just our kids, but for their kids.

[56:25] I’m going to be a Christian. [56:25] I’m going to be a Christian. [56:25] [56:25] [56:25] [56:25] I’m going to be a Christian.

[56:26] I’m going to be a Christian. [56:26] I’m going to be a Christian. [56:26] [56:26] [56:26] [56:26]

[56:26] I’m going to be a Christian. [56:26] I’m going to be a Christian. [56:26] I’m going to be a Christian. [56:27] [56:27] [56:27]

[56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27]

[56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27]

[56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27]

[56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27] [56:27]

[56:27] [56:27]