Chapel – Matt Naismith
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Community chapel this morning. We're glad that you've joined us. And for those of you who are online, welcome and welcome back from your reading break. I know many of you were away last week, either back home, wherever that might have been, across Ontario or Canada. I know some of you are in Jamaica. I know a few of you were in Florida, and I know one person that went over to England for the for the break. So we're glad you had a restful time, but I know that you've returned to a lot of work, so we pray that that will go well for you. We read in the Psalms this, praise the Lord, praise the name of the Lord, praise him. You servants of the Lord, You who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of God, praise the Lord. The Lord is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant. For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own Israel, to be his treasured possession. I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever he pleases in the heavens and on earth and in the seas and in their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain. He brings out the wind from the storehouses. Your name Lord endures forever, your renowned Lord through all generations. For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold made by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them. So will all who trust in them, all you Israelites, praise the Lord house of Aaron, praise the Lord house of Levi. Praise the praise the Lord. You who fear Him, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from Zion to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord, God's sovereignty, His power, His majesty, His invitation to us on a weekly basis to join in this story of salvation, of growth, of love that is what shapes our times together, week after week, and challenges us to be the people of God for the sake of His glory in a world that is in such desperate need of hearing his name and understanding his love and power. We're glad that you're here to worship with us this morning, and we're delighted to welcome two special guests to our platform today.
You'll hear from Matt Naismith in a bit, but we're so glad that Nicole Sinclair Anderson is with us today. Many of you will have read my email that went out, but Nicole is works as Creative Director at Malvern Christian assembly and is the principal soloist for the Toronto mass choir, and she's been working with the Tyndale band over the last couple of weeks, and is here to delight us with her gifts. So welcome, Nicole. We're glad you're here. And Matt Naismith is here also. Matt is an alum of Tyndale University. He graduated with the BRE back in 2009 long before we came to this campus. Matt is director of the Canadian campus collective, and he hosts something called the sowers podcast, a podcast available on a number of platforms that has been growing since the first episode back in September of 2023 that Sowers podcast explores discipleship and the church planting within Canada and the contacts from coast to coast. He's passionate about seeing everyday disciples Jesus become Sowers of the gospel in the places where they live, work, learn and play. And prior to this role, he was the founder of a church in Guelph, Ontario called Church of the city, which has become a thriving community based congregation meeting in the heart of that city. Matt is married to Andrea, and they have three boys, Nixon, Cade, and Thando as a personal note, Matt and I had been friends for a number of years. When he was a student here, he served as a resident advisor, loved to play sports, entertained us as one of the musicians in the Tyndale band at the time, and I'm just so delighted that he is here among us today, and you will be blessed by the words that he has for us this morning. Let's pray together, God, week after week, we come to this remarkable location in awe of your beauty, of your holiness, of your power, your sovereignty, of your love. And we did take it for granted. None of it. This is a good place, and you are a good God, and God, this morning, we pray that the words that we celebrate through song, the words that we absorb through Matt's preaching, through your scripture, will then enliven us to do the work that you have for us for your glory as we depart again in 40 or so minutes, God, we invite you now. We know you are here, but God, by your Spirit, invade this place, permeate us, envelop us by your love, and may we be changed because of it. We pray these things in Jesus name amen.
Let's say a word of prayer. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this day, thank you for this opportunity to behold your face. I thank you for your kingdom. And we, Lord Jesus, want to be mindful of what it is that you're doing in our midst and how you're inviting us to deep relationship. And so we give you praise. And all God's people said, Amen.
Well, why don't you have a seat? I always want to begin when I am here with the absolute pleasure, privilege, joy and honor it is to be here. While I was at Tyndale for three years, you live your life, and you look back on your life, and you think about the various seasons in your life. And the season that I was at Tyndale was certainly transformative. And when I've spoken to groups of people in the past, I actually talk about my very first week as part of the Tyndale community, which was frosh week. And at that point, frosh, we went away to Fair Havens, and I came to Tyndale needing saved from my legalism. If you've read or looked at any of the writings of Pastor Tim Keller, the late Pastor Tim Keller, he talks about how we need to be saved from our license or our legalism. And I needed to be saved from my legalism because I came to Tyndale believing that God must think pretty well of me because I was going to Christian secondary education. And it was during frosh week where this man that introduced us all today and welcomed us here, said, Okay, everyone, I want you to go and spend a half an hour alone with God. And I had no one idea what I was going to do for half an hour, because until that point, for whatever reason, I've gotten away with performing my way in Christian community. And in those moments, I sensed the spirit of God and His kind work of communicating to me the words of the Father to say, Matt, you know a lot about me, but you don't actually know me, something the writer David Benner would call transformational knowing like the elder brother in the field, right? Some of us are familiar with that story. We oftentimes focus on the prodigal that ran, rather than the prodigal who stayed, who needed saving from his own legalism and belief that I have the stature, that I have the love and value because of what I've done, rather than the gift of it being freely offered and given to me. And so my time here, over then, those going, the years following, that were significant. And so my prayer, wherever you are today, is that you would have a similar experience if you've yet to meet Christ personally, and for him to remind you or get a hold of you for the very first time, to say, I love you, and I want to know you. Will you make your home with me as I make my home with you beautiful. Well, I want to share with you a little bit about a recent experience that I've had, and this recent experience is that I returned to Instagram. Now some of you might be like, Well, what's, what's Instagram? Instagram? And some of you are like, you've returned to it. Why did you ever leave? Well, I left in 2020 as I was taking a season of sabbatical and felt like I needed to take a break. And there was a lot of writing at that time amongst pastors and other thinkers of you know the negative consequences of social media, and I've returned not believing that any of those negative consequences have suddenly evaporated, but instead, with a differing perspective on how I might use it. I as I said, as George mentioned, I have a podcast, and so I started using Instagram to share some of the word about what was going on in the podcast. And I was terrible at it like I needed to repost things constantly, because the first post I put up, I did it improperly, and there was all of these issues. But as I've been back, as I've returned to the gram, to the Instagram, I've started to survey a few things and make some observations. The first is this, people are hilarious. The human population, in their creativity and brilliance, is absolutely hilarious. If you've ever been sent a meme or a reel or one of those POVs, it's absolutely hilarious. You know this if you've been on it.
Secondly, some people treat their social media as an extension of themselves. I remember this one time that a friend, years ago, went on holiday, and he decided that he wasn't going to be on social media while he was away, and when he returned from holiday, he posted to his social media. My apologies everyone for not posting for the last week. I decided to take a holiday, and I thought it's so strange that he felt the need to apologize for not updating us on his life for the last week. Now, whether you think that is right or wrong, it's simply the case. It's simply a fact that people will post their outfits for the day or tell us what they're feeding their kids, or all host of these different things. There's a lot of odd things on there too, right? If you ever spent any time it's an odd place. And then there are those that have it as a sort of, well, let's say a protesting thing, or raising issues around various issues in the political forum. And so you as a user of this thing, decide, periodically, shall I post something that matters, or shall I not? Now that isn't to say that your outfit for the day doesn't matter to you, but only that letting the world know about what you're wearing today, other than those that you'll run into, maybe doesn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. But every now and then people do post, you know, things that matter to them. My wife and I have been growing in relationship with a number of non Christians, and we've met a number of them through her interaction at her CrossFit gym. And so we I've become now friends or acquaintances via Instagram with a number of these people, and I have therefore seen the various things that they post. Again, sometimes it's outfit for the day, and then another other things will be significant political concern, what's happening south of the border and how it interferes or interacts with various people at different times in different places, oftentimes void of any particular nuance. And it's ultimately, I find a little bit challenging. And so when you're you're doing that, you're like, oh, there's somebody's dog, oh, there's somebody's outfit, or there's a funny meme, and then it's like this, boom, in your face. Simple statement, no nuance whatsoever, attacking in sort of a passive aggressive way, Christians and religious people. You go, whoa. What do I do about that? So I would say that this is why Instagram is not good for me, because I have tended to interact with some of these things. So recently, I interacted with one of these posts, and, you know, the response to it was a little bit more aggressive than I was anticipating. I think I felt like I was being quite, you know, kind in the way that I was interacting. It felt like there was some more aggression coming backwards. But anyways, it all ended with them asking me about a running shoe recommendation, which I felt quite good about, because I run pretty avidly. And so it was like, Oh, we had ended on a high note. We said, Let's get together sometime. Anyways, I was debriefing this whole scenario, a situation with my wife, and she said, You did what? I said, yeah, I reached out to them about this thing. You did what? I said, you know, I She's like, why did you do that? Now why did I do that? Why do any of us do that? Well, for me, I had great scriptural justification, first, Peter 3 14 to 16. But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake. You will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. But in your hearts, honor Christ, the Lord, as holy. Why always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is within you. You do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. See, well, let's, let's, let's all be honest that sometimes we take some texts a little bit out of context. I mean, just for starters, right? The persecution that the Christians were experiencing in first Peter is very different than the persecution that I feel like I'm experiencing on social media. Secondly, Peter is writing about a posture and a position. Have no fear. Do not be troubled. Honor, Christ. Thirdly, Peter's encouragement is almost defense oriented in nature rather than offense oriented in nature. Notice how he says, always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason, for the hope that is within you. It's response oriented which also teaches us the fourth thing about this text, which is that the conduct and the character of our lives should demand an explanation from the watching world that we are to live in such a way that. People ask questions about the peculiarity of our lives and our good conduct, and that when we respond, our responses are to be gentle, respectful and founded ultimately upon a good conscience. And so reflecting with my wife upon my Instagram engagement allowed me to realize yet again of how that's probably not the best way to apply these verses from first Peter, my own doom scrolling and the various emotional equilibrium of how I'm feeling at that particular time is a fairly poor place to begin with the conduct of my life that demands a response.
Well, why do I bring this up? A couple of things. I believe that we are living at a time in Canadian history where there is incredible spiritual curiosity and followers of Jesus can either Doom scroll and take jabs, do or say nothing, or all at all, or return to the way of our master and Rabbi Jesus, as George mentioned, I host a podcast. I've had close to 65 or more conversations with various practitioners across the country, who would all say, collectively together, and it's on the topic of sharing the gospel, of being an influence in the places where you live, work, learn and play. And I would say fairly regularly across the board, everyone is saying there is spiritual curiosity in the relationships that I find myself in so what is the way of Jesus? And for that answer, we can go to Luke seven verses, 33 to 34 now I will tell you that this is red letter. Some of us maybe forget what red letter means. They are the words of Jesus, and this is what we read in Luke 7 33, to 34 for John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say he has a demon. Verse, 34 once again. This is Red Letter. This is Jesus describing himself, the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by her children. Jesus, in this interaction is with the religious leaders, and he's describing them as those ultimately, who've rejected the plan of God, choosing their own plan and their own purposes instead. Now, if we're honest, we can be very often times like these religious leaders, pursuing our own plans, our own purposes and rejecting the plan of God. And in the midst of this scene, Jesus describes John the Baptist, and then what is being said about him? Now, clearly we know that John the Baptist did not have a demon. But then Jesus goes to describe himself as the son of man that has come eating and drinking. Now, the Son of Man is a title Jesus frequently used to refer to himself, signifying his full humanity, while also hinting at his divine authority, drawing from the prophetic imagery of Daniel 7 13, to 14, where a Son of Man figure is seen approaching God on the clouds, representing a coming judge with great power, often interpreted as a messianic figure. Jesus then says, of the Son of Man, reference to himself that he has come eating and drinking. Don't miss this. Jesus describes himself as someone who has come eating and drinking. What this means is that Jesus prioritizes the table, the meal and the party as one of the primary methods of the in breaking kingdom of God. Let me say that again, Jesus prioritizes the table, the meal, the party, as one of the primary methods of the in breaking kingdom of God. So what is Jesus invitation to us? Well, you and I are to invite people, others, outsiders, people that we could make modern day comparisons to the tax collectors and sinners to the table to a meal to a party. Now that sounds rather simple, but is it really? Couple of questions for reflection. When was the last time you had someone that does not know or love Jesus at your table? When was the last time you were invited to the table of someone that does not know love or follow Jesus now you might be saying, well, what do we mean by the table? Here's what I believe of the table. It does not need to be always a lavish meal, but it could be a little table in the cafe here. Here are the key characteristics I believe of the table for you and I today, simple and accessible. Do not over complicate it. It can be simple and accessible. Now we ask the question, maybe of ourselves, why would we do this at all? Why would we prioritize the table? Why would we prioritize the meal? Why would we even inconvenience ourselves for the sake okay, there's spiritual curiosity, but why? Why else would we do this? Let us be reminded, brothers and sisters, of Isaiah, 53, verse five, that is the motivator for much of what we are to be about as his disciples, but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that what brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed. And through this sacrifice and through the victory of the resurrection and his ascension, and then one day his return, you and I, brothers and sisters, are invited to the heavenly banquet with Christ. He continues coming, eating and drinking to be with us in Revelation, 19, verse nine, we read, And the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And if you study those words, you come to see that the marriage supper of the Lamb is a metaphor for the union between Christ and His bride the church. And so the invitation brothers and sisters remains the same. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking. May we be the ones that go about the world, inviting to come eat and drink to our table, and one day he will return, coming, eating and drinking and inviting us there as well. And he has made it accessible, and he has made it a simple invitation, receive me. Let us pray. The Lord Jesus, we receive your word today in its fullness. I pray that we, Lord Jesus, would see who you are, and that we would respond accordingly, and we long Jesus for the day where we, alongside the angels, will sing holy, holy, holy, and we will be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. In Your name, we pray amen.
God, you have met us here this morning by your Spirit, and we pray in the way that you never stop working, even if we don't feel it, even if we don't know it, that we by your Spirit, may leave this place in service and ministry for your glory, and never stop because the spirit is embedded within us. And now hear these good words as we depart for that service in ministry to glory, for the glory of Jesus Christ, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of His Holy Spirit. Amen, and go in peace.
