Welcome, North Hills Church. I’m glad you’re here with us today. Special greetings to our global workers who are scattered around the world. It’s a privilege for me to come, and I hope this message resonates with you and encourages your heart, whether you’re hear or somewhere around the Word.
My name is Barry Wingo. I’m one of the elders here at North Hills. I was a church planner in Mexico, and it’s a joy for me to come and share with you today. It’s the first day of Wisdomfest, the theme is “Jesus in Dark Places,” and I’m thrilled to be able to be here.
I have a question for you to start with: What’s the greatest tragedy going on these days in the world? Things might come to your mind like famine, wars, racism, injustice, sexual abuse, deviant sin, crime, and mass shootings.
I don’t want to diminish any of those, but I believe — according to our passage today, which is Psalm 67 — the greatest tragedy going on in the world today is that 3,000 people groups in the word have no access to the word of God and cannot come to believe in Jesus Christ. They live their lives and go to their graves with no opportunity to know forgiveness of sin, no access. So let’s read Psalm 67.
I would ask you, if you can, to stand, and while you’re standing, if we could think about the honor and the privilege it is to have the word of God in English. There are millions around the world who have never heard the very words of God, and we have them right here in Psalm 67. What a privilege. Thank you for standing with me.
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” (Psalm 67:1-7)
Let’s pray together.
Lord, I thank you for the Word of God in English. I pray that you would use this message today to inspire many here at North Hills to join the effort of seeing all the nations glad and sing for joy because they know you. In Christ’s name, amen.
Let me give you a little roadmap for where we’re going. I want to break down the Psalm verse by verse, unpack some themes, then we’ll talk about implications, and then we’ll spend a little time applying Psalm 67 to our lives.
I have many to thank for the material I’m going to be sharing with you: David Platt, John Piper, and my own brother, Ted. Many others, actually. I feel like this is kind of a culmination of my life and of my passion for missions, really. It’s a great joy to be here and sharing them this way.
The big idea, as I see it from Psalm 67, is that David is offering a prayer, I believe. We’ll assume David wrote this. He’s offering a prayer for all the people of the earth to have the glorious privilege of knowing, praising, enjoying, and fearing the one true God.
Some name Psalm 67 “The Great Commission of the Old Testament” (this is where Ted comes in). The chiastic structure that builds to the central main point here in Psalm 67 is verse 4. It says
“let the nations be glad and sing for joy”
under the righteous rule and guidance of the Lord.
That’s the theme. That’s the chiastic structure points to that as the main point of this Psalm. You’ll have to check with Ted for any further instruction on that. So let’s look at verse 1.
“May God be gracious to us and bless us…” (Psalm 67:1a)
Grace is number one, isn’t it? Without God being gracious to us and blessing us, we have no hope. We’re sunk. God’s mercy and grace are foundational, and his grace begins with his forgiveness of our sin.
My own testimony is, I was a rebellious teenager deserving jail time and deserving eternal punishment for my evil heart. It was evil to the core, and yet God reached me in his mercy, and he saved me, and I never want to get over it.
Then the second part of verse 1 says,
“and make his face shine upon us,”
that he would bless us and make his face shine on us. David begins with a prayer that God would bless Israel and have his face shining on them. This is, of course, is a reference to Numbers 26:24-26.
Then after, if you look over in the right hand (at least in my Bible), in the right hand corner, it says “Selah.” I understand that to mean, “Okay, pause.” Meditate on that truth. Let it be highlighted, emphasized in our minds. So let’s do that, let’s read this one verse and then just think about it.
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us” (Psalm 67:1).
Isn’t that beautiful to just stop right there and take time to think deeply about the word of God? Then verse 2:
“…that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations” (Psalm 67:2).
David’s prayer is that the world would know the one true God through Israel. Israel’s blessing was not just for themselves. It was for the Gentiles as well. That’s God’s desire, and it started back in Genesis 12:1-2, when Abraham received his call.
“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. 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” (Genesis 12:1-2).
Not “bless us Lord so we’re safe, so that we’re comfortable, so we are secure, simply to bask in your love.” No, David reminds us, “Lord bless me —”
Or, this is a poem that my dad used to share. He would teach us this way. He said there’s a poem that talks about how selfish our prayers can be. The poem goes like this: “Lord, bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four, no more, amen.”
No, we’re blessed to be a blessing. The blessing doesn’t stop with us. That was God’s design from the very start. It comes with a purpose, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Our job is to show the world how great God is. God wants his way known, doesn’t he? And we also want his fame, his renown to grow and his kingdom to increase.
David prays for four things that this grace would produce in the nations: that God would be known, that he would be praised, enjoyed and feared.
1. He wants to be known.
Verse 2 says,
“that your way may be known.”
He doesn’t want anyone in the dark. No one ignorant of his word. He blesses us, makes his face shine on us. Why? Isaiah 49:6, the latter part of that verse says,
“I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’”
Notice here in Psalm 67, it’s not just evangelize. It says “that your way may be known.” You must be taught in order to learn the way of God, discipled. That’s the same as Jesus in his departing words to his disciples in Matthew 28:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20a).
We’re to make disciples, teach so that they will obey.
Okay, so he wants himself to be known.
2. He wants to be praised.
Not ignored, not misunderstood or hated. Verse 3 says,
“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (Psalm 67:3).
This will happen. All will bow. Romans 14:11 says,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God” (Romans 14:11).
Philippians 2:10,
“…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
That will happen when Jesus returns, but we want it to happen now, don’t we? We want people to praise our wonderful Lord now.
He wants to be known, he wants to be praised, and he wants to be enjoyed. This is, like Ted told me about this, the culmination of the chiastic structure: let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
Our greatest joy is to worship Jesus Christ, is it not? This prayer is that the whole world would join us in that praise. It’s a picture of heaven, really. But there are people who can’t enjoy him. They have no chance, no access, and they’re still waiting to hear about possible forgiveness for their sin and relationship with God. God deserves praise from all.
Notice there’s another “selah” to the right of that column. Let’s take a pause — and I’ll actually drink some water during the pause — and think about that.
He not only wants to be known, enjoyed, he wants to be praised, and
3. He also wants to be feared (held in high regard, held in awe).
Verse 7 says,
“God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” (Psalm 67:7).
He’s earned that fear, that reverence, that respect on the cross. He’s not to be thought lightly of with no reverence. He’s to be feared, to be held in awe, and his word is to be held in high esteem.
He’s earned respect and awe. That’s what worship really is. It’s the ultimate purpose of man. The Westminster Catechism asks,
“What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”
In summary, for Psalm 67, it emphasizes the scope of God’s desire for praise for all people. God is too big, too great for just one nation, one culture, one language, one people group. We as his children are motivated to enhance his fame, spread his fame, his renown, so
We want everyone to know God, to experience deep joy and satisfaction in their souls. Don’t we? To worship and praise the one true God, enjoy his rule and guidance. That’s beautiful. Psalms 86:9 says,
“All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name” (Psalms 86:9).
Imagine that scene. I look forward to heaven where God will receive the honor and respect that he deserves from all.
Then verse 4, the latter part of verse 4
says, “…for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth” (Psalm 67:4b).
Imagine what it would be like to have Jesus Christ rule, him on the throne forever. He will truly rule with equity and rightly guide the people on earth. Politicians make a lot of promises that a lot of times they don’t fulfill. Jesus Christ is totally honorable. He’s the perfect hero that we have forever.
Back to my outline, to the prayer David wrote: he wants God
What does he want to be known for? Well, it starts out in verse 1: he’s gracious, he’s merciful, and he’s kind. He’s also the one and only God.
Notice it says “that your way may be known,” “let all the peoples praise you.” It’s personal. God desires intimate, personal relationship with us. He wants fellowship.
I know for ourselves, we went to Mexico back in 1981, and the verse that the Lord gave us was,
“Look unto me”
personal.
“all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.”
There’s no plan B. He wants to be known as the God of justice. He judges the nations with equity. He’s fair, he’s righteous, he takes no bribes. There’s no partiality. All are judged the same. It doesn’t matter what skin color you have or who you know, there’s equal footing. Men, women, children, the poor, whatever caste in India — all are equal. Money makes no difference to God.
For 34 years, we saw the devastation of the cartels and the corruption in Mexico, the violence. There was no escaping the horrible influence that they brought. People being held hostage in paralyzing fear with no one to turn to. What a contrast when Jesus reigns. I look forward to that.
He wants to be known as sovereign. He’s the one who guides the nations of the earth. God laughs at nations, all the boasting. He’s in charge. Psalm 22:28 says,
“For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:28).
The truth of this verse comforts me when I hear the world news. I also love the song we sing often here by CityAlight, “Ancient of Days.” It’s a great reminder of the sovereignty of God. “Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall / There is still one King reigning over all.”
Let’s look at some implications now. Something that stands out to me from this psalm would be that God puts a high premium on seeing the gospel go to all people. Then in John, Jesus himself says (in 10:16),
“I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”
What about us?
Do I, too, join God in having a heart for the nations, concerned to see all have a chance to hear the good news of Jesus Christ? It’s every believer’s job to be a part, getting the gospel to the dark places, like our theme says.
The last message that Jesus said, that Jesus left his disciples, as I’ve mentioned, this one from Mark 16:15,
“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
That was the last thing he said. I think he wanted to have impact with that. It’s important. He wanted that message to stick.
I love worshiping here. I love the teaching. We are so blessed. I leave here very inspired by what I hear. But I also leave with some sadness. I think to myself, “This is fantastic, but millions are totally clueless.” Their world is 100% dark. They have no church to go to, no Christian friend to ask about their faith, there’s no one to explain the gospel, no access to the word of God, no chance to hear and understand the gospel. Romans 10:13-15 says,
“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:13-15).
Another implication from Psalm 67:
We must remember that the blessings don’t stop with us.
It’s not just us. I use what God’s given me to make much of Christ here in Greenville and around the world through prayer and giving and going. God blesses his people so that we will be a blessing to the nations. The big question for us is, does it matter to us? Does it matter? So many people have no chance to hear of Christ. We can’t be indifferent to the needs of people to hear the gospel.
I think for me and many of our global partners, global workers, you can’t unsee — The woe is on us, isn’t it? We can’t be indifferent to the needs of people around us. We penetrate the darkness, as the Wisdomfest theme says, “Jesus in Dark Places.” We ask ourselves, how are we actively participating in God’s global strategy to see all the nations be glad and sing for joy in Christ?
Another implication:
We as North Hills Church are focused on the unreached.
That’s our thrust. Those with no gospel witness, no outside influence of the word of God. They have nothing, and that’s 3.2 billion of the 8.3 billion in the population today. It’s about a third, if you can wrap your mind around that.
I’ll take you to a conversation I had with Jose Anquil, my co-translator (he’s with the Lord now) back in Mexico. We were with the Pima tribe at the time.
When we first got there, he was super motivated to hear the gospel. His uncle had told him, “Jose, one day, people from the other side—” that’s referring to America, “will come with a book, and that book contains the truth. You need to believe it. It’s true.”
After Jose was saved (and he did get saved), he peppered me with questions and he kept me motivated to get the language.
When he did get saved, he asked me in a very pensive moment, he said, “Why did it take so long? How long have you had this message? What about my uncle who died before you came? What about my grandparents?” There’s an urgency to get the gospel where it’s never been.
Another implication:
People from every tribe will join the body of Christ, and it will be complete with members from every nation, tongue, and language.
Isn’t that beautiful? God’s going to include all. Revelation 7:9-10 says,
“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, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10).
Charles Spurgeon said this,
“If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions to the heathen. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is in the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world.”
Practically, what are some ways to join in the effort here at North Hills? Think about that for a moment. You can register and come to the Integrate luncheon each month. It’s normally the third Sunday of the month. You can write to nathana@NorthHillsChurch.com.
Write to him also if you want to be on a mailing list for praying for our partner missionaries. Candy gets up-to-date prayer requests. Our missionaries are very good with communicating with us. We’re in a good roll now. You can get to know your missionaries by praying for them.
You can encourage them when they’re here. We’re going to have a lot of missionaries here in the next five weeks. You can encourage them by listening to their stories and leaning in, learning from them, being curious. You could also read biographies of missionaries.
You can also give so that others can take the gospel where it’s never gone, and you can consider going yourself. Talk to us, (Candy or I), or Nathan or Alan, many. We have a missions committee that’d love to talk with you about joining a new Pathfinder program. You’ll see information on that if you can get to a service. It’s to explore your options and determine what role the Lord would have you in the effort to get the gospel where it’s never been.
In our men’s class, which I really loved last eight weeks, we were talking about fighting shadows. Last week we talked about having godly ambition. We need for God to give us boldness, don’t we? To spread his fame by sharing the gospel here in Greenville and throughout the whole earth.
This generation of young people seem to be very in tune with justice. Like, what is fair? The greatest injustice is to deny whole people groups access to the word of God.
If you’re looking for a job with eternal impact and reward, how about taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a people group who have never heard of him? How about translating God’s Word into a language that so far has not even one verse of Scripture in it? Now that’s living for something bigger than yourself, isn’t it? And you won’t regret it. I’m 72 now. I certainly don’t regret giving my life to take the Gospel to the Pima and the Tepehuan.
I want to end with a story here, just to get you to think about this scenario:
Imagine another world pandemic. That’d be awful, wouldn’t it? Similar to COVID, but imagine that towards the end of that pandemic, it’s discovered that one country had the cure for the disease all along, but refused to share it with the rest of the world.
Their country enjoyed the freedom from all the heartache, suffering, and death, but refused to pass on the cure to other nations. They reasoned that it was safer and easier to manage by just keeping the cure to themselves.
What would be your response to words like atrocity and injustice and unfair, cold-hearted, blatant selfishness? Those come to mind. So we’re kind of back to where we started here, with the greatest tragedies, aren’t we? The truth is the world has a much worse crisis than COVID.
Every single person is infected with sin. The only cure is faith in Jesus Christ, yet 3.2 billion still wait. They wait to know that they have a death sentence and it’s for eternity. They still know nothing of the wonderful cure: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
To close, I’m going to give you a little assignment. Music really touches my soul. I’d like for you to check out a song on YouTube. If you type in, “May the Peoples Praise You” by Keith and Kristyn Getty, I think you’ll be blessed by that song. You may not like that style of music, or you may want to dance to it. But these are the words that really resonate with me and with Psalm 67. The song starts out,
“You have called us out of darkest night
Into Your glorious light
That we may sing the wonders of
The risen Christ
May our every breath retell the grace
That broke into our strife
With boundless love and deepest joy
With endless life”“This our holy privilege to declare
Your praises and Your name
To every nation, tribe and tongue
Your church proclaims
May the peoples praise You
Let the nations be glad
All Your blessing comes
That we may praise
May praise the Name of Jesus.”
That’s it. I hope that encourages you. Let’s close in prayer.
Lord, I’m so thankful for your word. I love Titus 2:11 that says,
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.”
And probably the most familiar verse in scripture, thank you for this in John 3:16,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life.”
What a great message we have. Give us hearts that feels empathy for those who are still waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Give us that empathy that translates into prayer, giving, and going. I pray this in Jesus’s name, amen. God bless you.
