We Are a People Who Attract Others to God

Introduction

What have we learned so far about being God’s people? We have learned that God’s people are committed to blessing others, walking in the ways of the Lord, doing righteousness and justice. They work for the holistic redemption, liberation, of the oppressed and enslaved. And God’s people represent God by living lives of practical holiness in the midst of the world. So far our focus has been on what kind of people God’s people should be. Why should we be a special kind of people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, God’s treasured possession, his peculiar people?

In Titus chapter 2 Paul explains to Titus what he should teach the church so that they will live right and do good. For what purpose? Verse 5 — so that no one will malign the word of God. Verse 8 — so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. And then in verse 10 — so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. Key word here — attractive.

This is the season of yellow jackets. The smallest piece of food attracts them. You cannot dare to eat outside. They zoom in on you like cruise missiles, coming from all directions, because the food on your plate attracts them. 

God loves people. God longs to draw people to himself. He does that through us. He lives in the midst of his own people in such a way that his people attract others to God. Our mission, our calling, is to have God so much at the center of who we are, and what we do, that there is a force, God’s own power, that pulls, draws, people into God’s love, salvation and blessing. We are a people who attract others to God.

1. Make others curious about God

Deut. 4:5-9

We attract others to God by making them curious, causing them to ask questions. Deuteronomy 4:5-9 — See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Like Israel we live on a very public stage. God did not intend for his people to hide from the world, or to live in secret. We live in the world rubbing shoulders with nonbelievers every day. We are an open book to the world. The world watches. What do the world, the nations, the people see when they observe us? What do they think? How will they react?

If Israel follows and observes carefully God’s commands they will have wisdom and understanding. This will draw the attention of the nations. It will make them curious. They will call Israel a wise and understanding people. They will call Israel a great nation. But Israel’s greatness, their reputation, does not come from military might. They are not great because they are many in numbers or possess much land. No, their greatness comes from the presence of God, the nearness of the living God in prayer. It comes from the superior quality of social justice which comes from the justice and righteousness of God’s law. 

Wisdom and understanding — where do they come from? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Prov. 1:7). Proverbs 9:10 — “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Israel was called into an intimacy with God like no other nation. They were to show exclusive loyalty to YHWH, worshipping and serving the Lord only. But God is invisible. How can they attract others to God? Through the quality of their unique, different, holy lives. This different way of life, this different social order, this different way of worship, comes from God’s law, his decrees and commands. It comes from God’s Word. When we take to heart these words then we will have life because these “are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long …” (Deut 32:46-47). God’s law, God’s Word, is perfect, refreshing for the soul, trustworthy, and makes the simple wise (Ps 19:7). It makes us wiser than our enemies (Ps 119:98). It makes us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Tim 3:15).

This is our challenge and mission today. We are “to make those around us curious about the God we worship and the lives we live. But notice that it is the second (our lives) that leads to the first (curiosity about God). After all, what would the nations actually see? The nearness of God is by definition invisible. What, then, would be visible? Only the practical evidence of the kind of society that was built on God’s righteous laws. The world will be interested in our claims about God (and how near he is when we pray to him) only when it sees the visible evidence of a very different way of living. Or, to put it the other way round, the world will see no reason to pay any attention to our claims about our invisible God if it sees no visible difference between the lives of those who make such claims and those who don’t.” (Wright, 132)

2. Attract others to seek God

1 Kings 8:41-43, 59-61

But we should not only make people curious about God. We should attract them so that they will come and seek God. Let’s look at Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8. Israel had settled and lived in the promised land. Finally, the great day had come. The temple was finished. The temple symbolized the presence of the living God with his people. After Solomon blessed the nation, he prayed this prayer as part of the dedication of the temple (vv 22-61). He begins his prayer with the uniqueness of YHWH and the faithfulness of God (v 23). By this time God fulfilled three of his promises to Abraham. Israel had become a great nation as God promised. God had abundantly blessed them. God had given them security in the promised land. But what about the fourth promise — that the blessing of Abraham would be a blessing for all the nations?

Solomon’s prayer lists the situations in which Israel might come to the temple and pray for God’s help. Then we read these surprising words in verses 41-43 — “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.”

When the foreigner comes to the temple to pray, Solomon does not ask that God drives them away or ignores them. Instead his prayer shows amazing openness, compassion and vision. He envisions that people of other lands will hear of the reputation of YHWH the God of Israel. He envisions that people from afar will be attracted to come and worship Israel’s God for themselves, that they will seek answers to prayer from that God. He envisions that Israel’s God can and will hear the prayers of such foreigners and will actually want to answer them.

And when God answers the foreigner’s prayer, then God’s own reputation will spread even further, until all the peoples of the earth will know his Name and fear Him. This is the scope of Solomon’s vision. He wants the whole world to know the name of the one true living God. What is our vision? What motivates us? It must be that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be known in every corner of the Umpqua valley, in all of Douglas County and Oregon, throughout America, to the ends of the earth. It must be that the Lord Jesus will be the one to whom people come in prayer and worship, the one they will follow as Lord and Savior.

This vision and prayer should encourage us. The living God attracts worship and prayer. God hears and answers the prayers of those who do not yet belong to his people. God can draw the worst of sinners to himself. He can and will change people. We must trust that God is at work drawing others to himself. We must pay attention, and take notice of where and how God is at work. And then join his work. This gives us courage to work, to witness, and to live as God’s people with bold humility in the world. 

We must remind ourselves that all of us were “outsiders” once. God brought us near and welcomed us. So we must look for ways in which we can do for others what God has done for us, drawing others into his love, salvation, and blessing. We must make sure that we attract, and not repel others. Only as we reflect the character and ways of God can we attract others to want to know him, to come to pray to Him.

So Solomon ended his prayer with these words — “And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” (1 Kings 8:59-61) 

Do we want to share in the excitement and joy of attracting others to God? Then we must have hearts that are fully committed to the Lord God. Then we must live according to God’s way in our practical daily living. And through us God will attract outsiders, others, to himself. 

3.  God wants to wear us!

Jer 13:1-11

In Jeremiah 13:1-11, God compares his covenant with Israel to a man binding a piece of clothing around himself. This is not just any piece of clothing but a sash, a waistband, worn for show. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to buy and wear such a waistband. After he had done that, the Lord then instructed him to hide it in the soil by the river. After some time the Lord told him to go and dig it up. “But now it was ruined and completely useless” (v 7). Then the Lord said in verses 10-11 — “These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.”

God wants to wear his people! For what purpose? His people should bring God renown, praise, and honor. We are the decorative clothing that God is wearing to display his glory and beauty, so that people will admire God.

When you go hunting, you were camouflage. When you go to the prom, you were a dress suit or an evening gown. The clothing you choose serves a specific purpose. On prom night the dress suit or evening gown attracts admiration for the person wearing it. God paid the highest price to buy us. God wants to wear us as his people so that we will attract admiration for God from others. So that his Name will be exalted and glorified. But God’s purpose can be frustrated because of our disobedience as it was frustrated by Israel’s disobedience. We must be careful that we do not become useless like that waistband, so that God does not look at us and say, “I can’t be seen wearing people like that!”

Are we living in such a way that the God we worship attracts admiration from those around us? God wants to put us on like a dress suit or an evening gown so that we will bring Him renown, praise, fame and honor. How exciting is that! What a honor and privilege! God wearing us as his special, treasured clothing! Are we willing? Are we ready?