My own research finds that we live in a culture where many are uninformed about Christianity, hold pluralistic views about morality and spirituality, distrust the institution of the church, care mostly about the here and now rather than the hereafter, but still hunger for spiritual experiences, and value community.  What do we preach in a culture like this?

One word: Gospel.  What’s needed in a changing culture is gospel preaching.

But perhaps not the gospel we think.  For example, I still remember one of the oldest members of a congregation for which I preached saying to me (after listening to my preaching for 4 years) “I haven’t heard a gospel sermon since the 1950′s in Pampa, TX!”  We all have our own definition of gospel don’t we?

But some of our greatest thinkers have been warning that some of us may be preaching less gospel than we realize.  N. T. Wright (How God Became King) proposes that conservatives have removed the “middle” from the gospel, focusing primarily on the manger and the cross and virtually ignoring everything in between.  Liberals have removed the “ends” of the gospel (manger and cross, focusing primarily on the middle (the life of Christ)).  Wright states that what’s needed is the whole gospel, especially in a time like ours.

A decade and a half ago, David Bosch wrote similarly (Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission).  He encouraged churches and church leaders to rediscover the “six salvific events” which make up the gospel: incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, Pentecost, Parousia. and the Return.  These events provided all that was needed for the church to communicate and complete its mission.  All six are fundamental to the gospel.  Lose one and you no longer have the gospel.

Consider how a focus on the whole gospel equips us to speak to our changing culture…

First, gospel-preaching equips us to address the spiritual hunger of this generation.

Timothy Keller writes that “The gospel is news about what has been done by Jesus Christ to put right our relationship with God.” [Keller, Timothy J. (2012-09-04). Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Kindle Location 528)]  In other words, the gospel is ultimately about us and God.  Preaching in a changing culture needs this gospel emphasis.  God-centered or theocentric preaching will find an eager hearing in a culture energized by the spiritual.

Too often we’ve satisfied ourselves with preaching that is bibliocentric (here’s what this text says), factocentric (here’s what the Bible says about this topic), or anthropocentric (here’s what God wants me to do) rather than theocentric (here’s who God is and what God has done). Historically, as Kay Northcutt reveals, preaching has emphasized persuasion, explanation, or communication–not formation (a focus on one’s relationship with God).  [Kay Northcutt Kindling Desire for God]  But, as Paul Scott Wilson writes, “The central purpose of preaching is the disclosure of God, an encounter with God through the Word, more than information about God.” [Paul Scott Wilson, The Practice of Preaching, 20.] In a culture as spiritually interested as ours, preaching finds common ground with contemporary listeners when its primary focus is the identity and actions of God on our behalf.  That’s gospel preaching.

Second, gospel preaching equips us to address the pragmatism of this generation.

David Kinnaman finds that one of the charges young adults make about Christianity is that it’s shallow–it doesn’t seem to have anything to offer for living life here and now.  It’s all about pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by (David Kinnaman You Lost Me). This, of course, is a misunderstanding of the Christian faith.  But it is a misunderstanding to which some of our preaching has contributed.  What’s needed today are ways to demonstrate how Christianity informs and impacts life right here, right now.

Timothy Keller writes that “Most of our problems in life come from a lack of proper orientation to the gospel. Pathologies in the church and sinful patterns in our individual lives ultimately stem from a failure to think through the deep implications of the gospel and to grasp and believe the gospel through and through.”  [Keller, Timothy J. (2012-09-04). Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Kindle Locations 1195-1197). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.]  That is, a correct understanding of the whole gospel has implications for the whole life–the here and now and the hereafter.  Gospel preaching, due to the very nature of the gospel, will naturally take up two key questions: So what? and Now what? [see Andy Stanley and Lane Jones Communicating for a Change (97, 127)]  Gospel preaching allows us to speak Scripture so that listeners understand the relevance of what’s being preached (so what?) and how it applies to daily living (now what?).  After all, the gospel is not just about a Savior who died but also about one who showed us how to live.

Third, gospel-preaching equips us to address the pluralism of this generation.

It does this in two ways.  First, it moves us to push against pluralism by maintaining that Jesus alone is King and that Jesus alone provides salvation.  After all, the gospel is primarily the story of Jesus as King.  Scot McKnight writes, “There is a Person at the very core of the gospel of Paul, and until that Person is put into the center of centers in Paul’s gospel, we will not comprehend his–scratch that–the apostles’ gospel accurately. The gospel Story of Jesus Christ is a story about Jesus as Messiah, Jesus as Lord, Jesus as Savior, and Jesus as Son…If I had to sum up the Jesus of the gospel, I would say ‘King Jesus.’” [Scot McKnight, The King Jesus Gospel, 56]   The very essence of the gospel is a message about Jesus as King.  To give up on that message, though it is disliked in a pluralistic culture, is to give up on the gospel.

Yet, an emphasis on the whole gospel allows us to preach Jesus as King in ways that build bridges rather than burning them.  Consider the table below.  Each element of the gospel makes Jesus a unique King.  The left side of the table thus may turn listeners away.  The right side, however, may draw them in.  Why? Because each element of the whole gospel makes Jesus the kind of king worth having.

In his book Who is This Man? John Ortberg has written extensively about the ways in which Jesus is the kind of king which almost any listener would truly long to have in his/her life.  Jesus may be king.  But he’s a king most of us would die to have.  He’s a king who’s died to have us.

An American friend of mine named Dale served as a missionary for twelve years in Australia.  I know Dale to be a sensitive and intelligent minister.  Thus, I have no doubt that he took great steps to understand Australian culture and to avoid saying or doing things that might offend Australians.  But even a careful preacher can make a misstep.  At one Christian gathering Dale was preaching from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 5-7.  There, Jesus addresses our obsession with possessions.  He deals with our fretfulness over finances.  To do this, Jesus points to the birds: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt. 6:26 ESV).  Dale summarized Jesus’ point by saying this: “We need to become birdwatchers.  Those of us who follow Jesus need to be birdwatchers.”  He meant that as we look at the birds, we are reminded of Jesus’ statement that God takes care of birds, and thus God will take care of us.  But upon that statement, Dale’s listeners smirked, giggled, and laughed.  Not the kind of expected laugh you get after telling a great joke.  The kind of laugh that means you just said something you shouldn’t have said.  Afterwards, a member of the gathering took Dale aside and explained: “Here in Australia we have a word for ‘men’—the word ‘bloke.’  And we have another word for ‘women.’  That word is ‘bird.’”  According to this Christian leader, some of the listeners used the word ‘bird’ as a synonym for ‘woman.’”  Thus, when Dale encouraged them to be “birdwatchers” he was actually encouraging them women watchers. 

Perhaps you’ve made a similar stumble when visiting a foreign country.  Tried to say something in their language and made a mess of it.  Or did something you’d normally do in the U. S. without thinking, only to find out that you don’t do that in that country.  Most of us recognize that a change in geography often brings a change in culture.  [PP world map]  We realize that “where” we are brings people who look at the world differently than we do.  And we have to pay attention to the words we use and the actions we take.  We appreciate that a change in geography often brings a change in culture.

But it’s important to not just understand “where” we are.  We also need to understand “when” we are.  Even without changing geography, a change in chronology can bring changes in culture.  Even though we may stay put, as time passes us, culture around us can change.  And the change from one generation to another right here in the United States can be as significant as the change from one audience in Africa to another in Asia.

David Kinnaman and the Barna Organization have written about this.  Kinnman has shown that without leaving the United States, as time has passed, the culture around us has shifted.

Let’s start around 1935.  Someone born around 1935 would be part of the Senior generation.  This was a generation in which more than 70% were “Christian” and only about 28% were “post-Christian.”  Post-Christian is a term used to describe people who do not attend Christian worship services, have serious questions about the Christian faith, and live without being formed by the Christian story.  For those born around 1935, very few were post-Christian.  Most were Christian.

But if we move down the timeline, staying put in the United States, things begin to change.  Someone born around 1955 would be part of the Boomer generation.  This was a generation in which 65% were Christian and 35% were post-Christian.  Over time, there’s been an increase in the number of people who are disconnected from the Christian faith.

Staying in the same geography, we change chronology to about 1975.  Someone born near 1985 would be part of the “Buster” generation.  This is a generation in which 60% are Christian and 40% are post-Christian.  Thus from 1935 to 1975 we see the percentage of post-Christians rise from 28% to 40%.

Finally, we land around 1995. Someone born around 1995 could be called “Mosaics.”  This is a generation in which 52% are Christian and 48% are post-Christian.  Nearly 1 out of every 2 of this generation is disconnected from and disinterested in the Christian faith.

Another way to envision the cultural change of chronology comes to us from the Pew Research Center.  They recently discovered what’s been called “the rise of the ‘nones.’”  “Nones” refers to people who say they have no religious affiliation.  From 2007 to the present those with no religious affiliation have risen from about 15% to almost 20%–the highest percentage in American history.  The increase is particularly strong among young adults.  While only 9% of the Seniors were “nones,” more than 30% the Mosaics are “nones.”

Thus, while we’ve remained in one spot, the culture around us has changed.  Where we are is the same.  When we are is an entirely different time-zone.  We now live in a time zone with increasing numbers dislike Christianity and are disconnected from Christianity.  We live in a time zone when Christianity is increasingly critiqued.

In my book Preaching to Pluralists I describe this time-zone in the following terms.  When are we?  We live in a time zone where…

1. More and more people are uninformed about the Christian faith.  They are growing up without basic knowledge of Christianity.
2. And, larger numbers of people are pluralistic.  They do not believe in absolute truth or in one true religion—and they don’t like Christianity because of that.
3. Further, increasing numbers of people are pragmatic.  They are interested in whatever works in the here and now.  They care about life before death, not life after death.  And they view Christianity as something with little to offer in the here and now.
4. In addition, increasing numbers of people are anti-institutional.  They distrust organized religion, including Christianity.
5. Thankfully more and more are spiritual.  They pray.  They are genuinely interested in spiritual matters.
6. In addition, increasing numbers of people are experiential.  They are looking for an experience of God not just information about God.
7. Finally, they are relational.  They want community.  They seek social support.

In his book You Lost Me David Kinnaman surveys these young adults to find out why so many of them are disconnected from and disgusted with Christianity.  Their reasons fall into 6 categories. When are we?

1. We live in a time when increasing numbers view Christianity as overprotective.  The church, they say, views everything outside church walls as sinful.  Thus young people want nothing to do with the church.
2. We live in a time when increasing numbers view Christianity as shallow.  The Christian faith, they say, may help me get to heaven, but it offers nothing for living on Monday morning.
3. We live in a time when larger numbers see Christianity as antiscience.  The church, they say, believes all science is bad and is an enemy of the faith.
4. We live in a time when larger numbers see the Christian faith as repressive.  The church’s stance on morality, they say, is archaic and won’t work in a culture like ours.
5. We live in a time when more and more view Christianity as exclusive.  The church’s teaching about Jesus being the only way to God seems overly exclusive.
6. And we live in a time when more and more see the Christian faith as doubtless.  The church, they say, is not a safe place to ask hard questions.

This is when we are living.  And one of the great challenges is that Christians and churches tend to assume we’re still living in the same old time-zone.  Some churches and Christians still act as if we’re living in the Senior time zone when most in our culture knew about the Christian faith and had an inclination toward the Christian faith.  But the reality is that we are living in the Mosaic time zone.  We’re living in a time zone when there is increasing disinterest in and hostility toward the Christian faith.  We’re living in a time zone when more and more of the people around us don’t like Christianity.

What do we do about this?  Let me share a suggestion which grows out of Mark 2.

Just 45 verses into Mark’s fast-paced account of Jesus, we encounter something unexpected.  Mark presents 5 stories with one theme—conflict between Jesus and religious leaders.  Five stories where people are critiquing Jesus and his faith.  Five stories where Jesus is critiquing the faith of others.  Five stories somewhat analogous to our time zone—a time zone when faith is bring critiqued.  These five stories are not chronological.  They didn’t happen all at once.  Mark brought them together because they share this one theme.

Why did Mark do this?  Probably because Mark’s readers were living in a difficult time zone.  At the time of Mark’s Gospel, his readers were in Rome being persecuted for their faith.  Thus Mark uses these 5 stories to address their situation.  People are critiquing their faith.  So Mark shares stories of people critiquing Jesus’ faith.  And though we are far from being persecuted for our faith today, perhaps these 5 stories have something to say to us in our time-zone.

Notice what happens in each of the 5 stories. In each story, religious leaders criticize Jesus for his “outside the box” faith.  And, Jesus criticizes religious leaders for their “inside the box” faith.

In story #1, friends bring a sick friend to Jesus.  They cannot get to Jesus so they lower their friend through the roof to Jesus.  Jesus sees the man’s physical sickness.  He also sees the man’s spiritual sickness.  Thus, rather than merely healing his body, Jesus also heals the man’s soul.  Jesus forgives the man’s sins.  But some of the religious leaders protest: Why does this man speak like that?  He is blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone? (Mk. 2:6 ESV).  And Jesus fires back, Why do you question these things in your hearts? (Mk. 2:8 ESV).  The religious leaders practice a faith that is inside the box—they cannot fathom that a figure like Jesus could be authorized to forgive sin.  But Jesus pushes against their box and forgives the sin.

In story #2, Jesus comes upon a tax-collector named Levi.  Tax collectors like Levi were despised.  Yet Jesus says, “Follow me” and Levi does.  Levi invites Jesus for dinner with “many tax collectors and sinners.”  But the religious leaders protest: Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? (Mk. 2:16 ESV).  And Jesus fires back, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Mk. 2:17 ESV).  The religious leaders cannot fathom that God would have any use for someone like Levi or that it could ever be appropriate to have fellowship and friendship with people who seem so far from God.  But Jesus pushes against the limits of their box.

In story #3, legalistic believers come to Jesus and protest: “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (Mk. 2:18 ESV).  They cannot imagine that a person could be devout and not engage in the twice-weekly fast of the Pharisees.  But Jesus fires back: “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins. (Mk. 2:19-22 ESV).  Jesus reveals that there are times to fast and times to feast.  And, Jesus states that the box they’ve put God in is like an old piece of clothing, or an old, fragile and inflexible wineskin.  Jesus, on the other hand, is practicing a faith that is fresh and flexible.  It’s outside their box.

In story #4, Jesus and his hungry followers snack on grain during a Sabbath.  And the religious watchdogs bark: “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (Mk. 2:24 ESV).  Their box is so small they cannot imagine that God would approve picking heads of grain to fill an empty belly on the Sabbath—the day when no work was to be  done.  But Jesus fires back.  He tells the story of King David—one of the most revered figures of the Old Testament—who did something even more “controversial” to fill an empty belly.  Jesus concludes, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mk. 2:27-28 ESV).

In the final story, Jesus is attending worship services in a synagogue.  There’s a man present with a shriveled hand.  Jesus heals the man.  And the religion police protest: ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mark 3:6 ESV).  And Jesus fires back: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” (Mk. 3:4 ESV).

Jesus models an expansive faith where sinful people are forgiven, problematic people are befriended, disciples can dispense with fasting when needed, grain can be plucked on the Sabbath, and a person can be healed on the Sabbath.  Jesus pushes against their restrictive faith where forgiveness is limited, friendship is withheld, and where traditions must be upheld even at the expense of people in need.  Jesus is rearranging social barriers here.  Jesus is breaking down religious traditions here.  Jesus is putting love of God and love of neighbor first here.  The religious leaders are building up social barriers.  They are strengthening religious traditions.  They are putting love of position and power first.  They’ve got God in a box.  So Jesus removes the box.  Jesus pushes against this religion that restricts God so severely.

We live in a time zone when many are critical of our faith.  Just like the religious leaders criticized Jesus, many today criticize us.  And one thing these 5 stories do is comfort.  They remind us that from the very beginning Jesus was the target of criticism and judgment.  It shouldn’t surprise us if we today are targets of criticism and judgment.

But these 5 stories also challenge.  My friend Eric Gentry recently said to me, “When we read Mark 2, we like to see ourselves as Jesus—as the ones being unfairly criticized.  But maybe we should see ourselves as the religious leaders—as the ones who deserve some criticism.”  One of the things Mk. 2 should lead us to ask is this:  Are contemporary critics of Christianity pushing against our core beliefs or just our outer box?  Are young people turning away from Christianity because they’ve really found something wrong with Jesus?  Or are they turning away because they’ve found something wrong with us?  Are they leaving because we, like the religious leaders of Mark 2, have created a repressive box around God?  This time-zone when many are pulling away from the Christian faith is an opportunity for self-examination.  Are Mosaics rejecting Jesus?  Or are they rejecting the way we portray Jesus?  Are they losing their religion because of something Jesus said of did?  Or are they losing their religion because of something we said or did? Are they pushing against our beliefs or our box?

I recently had a conversation with someone for whom this is not just academic.  His father was raised as a church-going Christian.  But his father’s church eventually ran the father out of the congregation for his views about a marginal issue.  The father never returned.  The son, my friend, also had some very negative experiences with churches when he was in his twenties.  They were so negative that he left church.  He said, “I didn’t need that middleman.  I could pray to God by myself.”  There was a time when he was similar to the Mosaics I’ve mentioned.  But he wasn’t necessarily pushing against Christian beliefs.  He was pushing against the box—that negative box churches had placed between him and Jesus.

When the young adults in Kinnaman’s You Lost Me charge that Christianity is overprotective, shallow, anti-science, repressive, exclusive and doubtless, what are they charging?  Are they criticizing the actual teaching and life of Jesus?  Or are they criticizing some of flawed ways in which we’ve portrayed and practiced the teaching and life of Jesus?

Paul Tripp writes of his son:^[1] “I gave birth to a son who just doesn’t understand gifts. My wife and I would go out when he was a little guy to buy what we thought was the [perfect] gift. He would tear open the gift, and he’d end up playing with the box. It drove us crazy. We decided one Christmas that we were going to find … the gift of gifts that he would not be able to resist. We shopped and shopped. We found the gift. We were so excited. We were much more excited at that moment when the gift came out from under the tree and he was about to unwrap it—much more excited than he would have ever been. He ripped open the gift like a little boy would … and, actually got out this toy and began to play with it. I had a feeling of such victory. I went into the kitchen to get something to drink, was in there for a few minutes, and came out and he was sitting in the box. I couldn’t believe it.”  Then Tripp makes this application: “If you’re one of God’s children, you have been given the most awesome gift that could ever be given. It’s gorgeous from every perspective. It’s a gift of such grandeur that it’s hard to wrap human vocabulary around it and explain it. It’s beautiful from every vista …. It’s the gift that every human being needs. It’s a gift that in all of your work and all of your effort and all of your achievement you couldn’t have ever earned; you could have never deserved; you could have never achieved. It is absolutely without question the gift of gifts. It’s the gift of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, [but] I am deeply persuaded in the face of this gift, there are many Christians who are content to play with the box.”

Perhaps that’s what we need to take away from Mark 2.  Perhaps what we need is a challenge to not let our box get in the way of the gift.  Some of us are just like that child.  We tend to focus on the box and forget the gift of Jesus.  Perhaps what we need is a reminder that what the world around us needs—has always needed—and still needs today—is not that box.  But the gift.  Perhaps what we need in the midst of all of this critique is to remember that the world’s been given the most awesome gift that could ever be given. It’s gorgeous from every perspective. It’s a gift of such grandeur that it’s hard to wrap human vocabulary around it and explain it. It’s a gift that in all of your work and all of your effort and all of your achievement you couldn’t have ever earned; you could have never deserved; you could have never achieved. It’s the gift of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And if we’ll just let the world see this perfect gift, instead of our imperfect box, they’ll be no keeping the world from turning to Christ—no matter what time it is.

How much longer?

How much longer?

How much longer?

God, you don’t even put me on your to-do list.

You treat me like a stranger.

My heart is broken.

No one has my back–except the knives.

If this continues, I’m not going to make it.

But…

I remember.

I remember all those other times you did come through.

I remember all those other times you didn’t fail me.

You’re still the same God aren’t you?

I hope so.

I truly hope so.

[image]

No one keeps their word Lord.

I’ve searched the world for just one who does what he says, for just one who means what she says.

But there are none.

Instead I hear lips that say one thing but mean another.

I hear lips that make and then break promises.

But you keep your word Lord.

You say what you mean and mean what you say.

You make but never break promises.

Because of this, I place my trust in you.

[image]

Lord, wicked people are doing devilish deeds in the dark.

And from my persective, the innocent seem impotent to stop them.

But from your high heavenly throne you have a different perspective.

What is done undercover your eyes uncover.

You are witness of all this wickedness.

And you will bring an end to all that seems unending.

[image]

When I was eighteen I moved from the country to the city.  I left my mountain hometown of Cloudcroft, NM.  About 600 people lived there.  And I began college in the desert city of Las Cruces, NM.  About 60,000 people lived there.  I left a village with 3 restaurants, one high school, and a 90% white population.  I entered a city with 300 restaurants, multiple high schools, and a diverse population.   To put this into perspective, my hometown would basically fit on the main campus of my college (shaded area).

This move to the city is one which many other people are making.   300 years ago, about 3% of people in the world lived in cities.  Today 80% of the world lives in cities.[1] In 1950, New York and Tokyo were the only two megacities—cities with populations larger than 10 million.[2] By 2010 the number of megacities had increased from 2 to 23. By 2025, it is estimated that there will be 29 megacities.  More and more people are moving to the city.

And those who aren’t moving are still influenced by cities.  Even though I grew up in a village, my life was affected by cities.  For example, the nearby small city of Alamogordo published the newspaper we read in Cloudcroft, provided the grocery stores where we shopped, and gave us movies.  More and more people are moving to cities.  And those who aren’t are still influenced by cities.

This was also true in the times recorded in the Bible.  Many people lived in cities.  And most people were influenced by cities.  Timothy Keller writes of three reasons why cities in the ancient world were important:[3]    

1. First, because early cities had walls, a city meant greater safety and therefore stability. Cities’ primary importance lay in their resistance to hostile forces, whether opposing armies, marauders, blood feud avengers, or wild animals.
2. Second, [cities led to] greater diversity, which is a natural result of density and safety…Because minorities find them to be safe places to live, cities tend to become racially and culturally diverse.
3. Third…cities were places of greater productivity and creativity. The more often people of the same profession come together, the more they stimulate new ideas and the faster these new ideas spread. 

Cities were important in the time of the Bible because they provided safety and stability, diversity, and productivity and creativity.  Today’s cities often provide the same things.

And yet, not everything about cities was good in the time of the Bible.  Not everything about cities is good today.  NBC News recently drew attention to the dark side of cities when they highlighted Camden, NJ.[4]  Camden, NJ has the unfortunate distinction of being both the most violent city in the U. S. and the poorest city in the U. S.  Over 40% of Camden’s residents live below the poverty line.  Sometimes cities create a concentration of the poor.

According to UNICEF, one in three people living in cities today live in slums.  In Africa, 6 out of 10 people living in cities dwell in slums.[5]

Cities have many positive traits.  And they have some negative traits.

Because of this, a church leader named Augustine used the positive and negative images of city to summarize the message of the Bible.  [PP image]  He would write in his book The City of God , “The humble City is the society of holy men and good angels; the proud city is the society of wicked men and evil angels. The one City began with the love of God; the other had its beginnings in the love of self.”  Augustine believed that the images of a humble and God-loving city and proud and self-loving city captured the heart of the biblical message.[6]

In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, John summarizes the Bible’s message in a similar way.  He draws a contrast between “the great city” (Babylon) and the city of God (Jerusalem). For John, everything he needed to say about humanity and God could be said with the image of two cities.[7]

The city is also a favorite image of the Old Testament prophets.  This was especially true of the Isaiah.  Bible scholar J. Alec Motyer writes that the book of Isaiah “could be accurately described as ‘the book of the city.’”[8]  Isaiah uses the image of city to describe everything that’s wrong with the world and everything that’s right with the world.

We find this image in Isaiah 24-27.  These four chapters are a single sermon preached by Isaiah.  The word “city” shows up eight times in this sermon.  If Isaiah is a book of the city, Is. 24-27 is a sermon of the city.

And there is a stark contrast between Is. 24 and Is. 25.  In Is. 24, Isaiah preaches this message: God is breaking down the city for the prosperous.⁵ The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.  ⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.  ⁷ The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. ⁸ The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. ⁹ No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. ¹⁰ The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. ¹¹ There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. ¹² Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. (Is. 24:5-12 ESV).

Isaiah looks upon the earth and summarizes what he sees.  He sees humanity living in a city where there was once wine, merry-hearts, the sound of tambourines and lyres, strong drink, homes, gates and joy.  It’s a city where the prosperous have thrived.  The “haves” enjoy ease and comfort.  Their lives are happy and harmonious.  But there’s something wrong in this city.  The people have “transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.”  The people have forgotten God and his ways.  And, as we’ll see in Is. 25, the result is that there are people in this city who are neglected.  While the prosperous live lives of delight, there are others who live lives of despair.  Thus, Isaiah promises, God is breaking down this city for the prosperous.  It will become a wasted city.

But in Is. 25, Isaiah speaks good news: God is building up the city for the poor.   25 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. ² For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners’ palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. ³ Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. ⁴ For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, ⁵ like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is put down. ⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. ⁷ And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. ⁸ He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces (Is. 25:1-8 ESV).

God’s building up another city.  It’s a city in which he is the stronghold.  The image of is God acting as the protective wall around the city.  This new city has a wall made not of stone.  This new city has a protective wall made of God.  In this city the poor find safety.  In this city, no longer do only the privileged enjoy feasts.  In this city everyone, especially the poor, find “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well-refined.”  In this city there is no suffering.   There is no disease.  There is no oppression.  God “will wipe away tears from all faces.”  In fact, in this new city there is not even death.  There are no children found dead in the shotgun house that burned.  There are no homeless people found dead on cold winter nights.  Instead, in this city God “will swallow up…the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever.”  Isaiah says God is building up a city for the poor.  A city where he is the protective wall.  A city where people of all colors and class are welcome.  A city where the poorest are invited to the feasting table.

This is the city Jesus envisions in Matt. 8–the core text for our Sunday morning series.  Jesus speaks of the time when God will invite people from the east and the west to come and feast with God.  His language in Matt. 8 comes straight from places like Is. 24 and Is. 25.

Jesus knew about this sermon of the city.  And he was working with God to turn that sermon into a reality.  That’s why he ate with the forgotten and marginal.  That’s why he reached out to the hopeless and helpless.   He knew that God was breaking down the city for the prosperous and building up the city for the poor.

Jesus’ followers had heard this sermon as well.  In his book The Rise of Christianity, sociologist Rodney Stark writes this:[9] To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. Christians joined God’s work of breaking down the city for the prosperous.  God’s work of building up the city for the poor.

One of the ways in which Highland is joining this work in the city of Memphis is through our partnership with Agape Child and Family Services.  For dozens of years, Highland has joined Agape in helping make Memphis and the metro area a stronghold for the poor.  We’ve asked Highlander Brian Hoover, who serves as Agape’s Director of Development, to join us today.  Brian his going to share how God is using Agape to build a city for the poor.

Brian Hoover

Highland’s partnership with Agape is funded through today’s Outreach Contribution.   Our biannual Outreach Contribution funds more than twenty of Highland’s ministries to the needy, the nations and our neighbors. When you give $151,000 today, you make these ministries possible.  You join God in breaking down a city for the prosperous and building up a city for the poor.

Jesus has come to grant us life larger than we’ve imagined. It’s a life that begins in the here-and-now, not just in the hereafter. It’s a life that encompasses Monday morning at work/school, not just Sunday morning at church.

Jesus reveals this life in his Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), a sermon that matters more than virtually any other speech given by Jesus.  Why?

1. Jesus’ ascent to the Mount parallels Moses’ ascent to Mount Sinai.
2. Jesus’ content parallels the three-fold focus of the Ten Commandments (see below).
3. Matthew presents this as a summary of Jesus’ best teaching (Matt. 4:23; 9:35);
4. Matthew presents this as the first/best of five speeches given by Jesus (Matt. 5:1, 10:1, 13:1, 18:1, 24:1).

My friend Randy Harris writes, “For two thousand years many Christians have considered the Sermon on the Mount to be the most important words in the whole Bible.”

In these important words, Jesus offers a three-fold life. First, Jesus offers the giant gift of a piety that is genuine.

Genuineness and authenticity are what contemporary critics often find so lacking in faith. For example, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons interviewed 16-29 year-olds. They asked these young adults what they thought about Christianity. The answer? Again and again young adults said, “Christians are hypocritical.”  In addition, Karl Rahner writes, “The number one cause of atheism is Christians.Those who proclaim God with their mouths and deny him with their lifestyles is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable.” People are longing for something larger than hypocrisy.

Jesus offers this gift. He offers a piety, a walk with God, that is genuine and authentic. As John Ortberg writes, what set Jesus apart from the religious leaders of his day was his focus on the heart. One of the things Jesus critiqued most was the hypocrisy of religious people (see Matt 23:13,15,16,23,27,29).  And in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provides a path away from hypocrisy and toward authenticity and genuineness (e.g., Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18).

Second, Jesus offers the giant gift of relationships with people that are gracious.

Graciousness is often absent in the relationships formed by religious people today. David Kinnaman’s research finds that Christians are more known for who they exclude than who they embrace. Robin Meyers writes about the many who seem to believe in Christ but refuse to treat people like Jesus. People are longing for something larger than intolerance, hatred and judgment.

Jesus offers this gift. He offers relationships that are gracious. He teaches kindness, compassion and love–even for our enemies (e.g., Matt. 5:21-48).

Third, Jesus offers the giant gift of using possessions in ways that are generous.

One of the young adults highlighted in Kinnaman’s studies said, “It just feels like in America everyone keeps faith separate from work and life.” There’s a sense among some today that Christianity has nothing to offer when it comes to work and life-and the resources which flow into and from both. Richard Foster writes that “The crying need today is for people of faith to live faithfully. This is true in all spheres of human existence, but it is particularly true with reference to money, sex, and power.” Later, he writes that “Martin Luther astutely observed, ‘There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind, and the purse.’”

People desperately need a spirituality that impacts what they do with their dollars-Jesus provides this. In his Sermon, he shows how to live in a right way with resources so that they bless others and honor God. Jesus offers the giant gift of using possessions in ways that are generous (e.g., Matt. 6:22-33).

Jesus is calling us to live large.  In my forthcoming book Ten Minute Transformation, I explore this life and the small steps we can take to start living it now.  I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering it (for 20% off).  In the meantime, go and live large!

———————————————————————————————

[Randy Harris, with Greg Taylor, Living Jesus (Leafwood, 2012) (9)]

[David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters (Baker, 2007)]

[Karl Rahner (Christianity Today 34:8]

[John Ortberg Who is This Man? (119)]

[David Kinnaman, You Lost Me (Baker Books, 2011), 179]

[Robin Meyers, Saving Jesus From the Church]

[Richard Foster, Money, Sex & Power (Harper & Row, 1985), 1]

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The word on the street, Lord, is that you stand up for those who have fallen down.

You have a reputation for helping the hurting.

You’ve never failed to fight for someone mistreated or badly cheated.

And now, after what you’ve done for me, I can testify that your reputation is in fact reality.

You rooted for me when no one else even remembered me.

I’m going to share my story until the whole world knows what a great God you are.

[image]

Lord, the simplest things convince me that You are a majestic God:

The way the sky glows at sunrise and sunset.

The way children express joy without restraint.

The brilliance of the stars and the moon.

The invitation you extend for us to help mind all you have made.

I cannot help shouting that You are a majestic  God!

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In the early 1990s the World Bank interviewed people living in poverty.[1] They asked over 60,000 poor people from 60 countries a basic question: What is poverty?  Some of us might answer that question by describing poverty as simply the lack of financial resources.  The absence of certain possessions.  But when the poor described poverty, they described it also as the presence of something.  The presence of shame, powerlessness and fear. 

• From West Africa: “When I don’t have any [food to bring my family], I borrow, mainly from neighbors and friends. I feel ashamed standing before my children when I have nothing to help feed the family.”
• From East Africa: “When one is poor, she has no say in public, she feels inferior.”
• From Central Africa: “[The poor have] a feeling of powerlessness and an inability to make themselves heard.”
• From Eastern Europe: “For a poor person everything is terrible—illness, humiliation, shame. We are cripples; we are afraid of everything.”

The poor describe poverty as being shamed, voiceless, and afraid.

There were similar feelings among the poor in ancient Israel.  A prophet named Micah describes this graphic scene: 3 And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel!  Is it not for you to know justice?—² you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones, ³ who eat the flesh of my people (Micah 3:1-3 ESV).  Micah uses vivid symbolism to describe the way the powerful were treating the poor.  Instead of administering justice (v. 1) the powerful brutalized the poor.  The poor were no longer even people.  They were objects to be used for the pleasure of the powerful.  As a result, Micah says in 4:4, the poor were filled with fear.  Not only did the poor in ancient Israel lack material things.  They were shamed, voiceless and afraid.

But God had a dream of changing all of that.  Listen to God’s dream for the deprived: 4 It shall come to pass in the latter days…³ He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; ⁴ but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid… (Micah 4:1, 3-4 ESV).  Let’s walk backward through this dream.

“and no one shall make them afraid” (Micah 4:4b ESV)  Right now there’s a group of people who are afraid.  It’s the poor.  But God’s dream is that one day they will no longer be afraid.

How will God end their fear?  “…they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (Micah 4:4a ESV).  That phrase may be meaningless to us today.  But it was meaningful in Micah’s day.  It’s a phrase found in several places in the Bible.

• When the author of Kings summarizes prosperous reign of King Solomon, he uses this phrase: “And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (1 Ki. 4:25 ESV)
• When the king of Assyria threatens Jerusalem, he tells the people, “Make your peace with me and come out to me.  Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree.” (2 Ki. 18:31 ESV)
• A heavenly being shows Zechariah the prophet a vision of the future.  And about that future God says, “In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.” (Zech. 3:10 ESV)

The fig tree and the grape vine were among the most common sources of food and income in the ancient world.  They were often planted together, with the grape vine growing on the branches of the fig tree.  Thus, if you had a fig tree and a grape vine, you had the basic resources for living.  And thus you would no longer have to fear.

During the 1928 presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee ran ads on behalf of Herbert Hoover.  To portray the prosperity which a Republican president would bring, they promised that a vote for Hoover would result in “a chicken in every pot” and “a car in every backyard.”[2]  A fig tree and a grape vine was the Old Testament’s way of saying the same thing.

God’s dream for the deprived, according to Micah, was to bring about a future where everyone has enough.  Where no one has to be afraid of where the next meal is coming from, how they are going to pay the bills, or who might be coming after the very little they have.

This grabbing and stealing is alluded to by Micah in the next phrase:  and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore (Mic. 4:3b).  The warfare Micah envisions probably has to do with people taking the possessions of others.  This is why some are afraid.  They are afraid because other people are fighting to take the very little they have.  But God dreams of a future where these conflicts disappear.  There’s no longer intense longing for what others have and a willingness to do whatever it takes to grab it.  Instead, there is contentment.  Everyone has what he/she needs.  Everyone is content with what he/she has.  Each person has a fig tree and a grape vine.

At a recent TED Conference it was reported that the number of people around the world living on $1.25/day has been declining.[3]  That’s pretty good news.  But the sad news is that there are still $1.4 billion around the world living on $1.25/day.  God’s dreaming of the day when that number is zero.  When...they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.

There are about 10,000 homeless persons in Memphis/Shelby County. One-third of those are women and children. God’s dreaming of the day when that number is zero.  When...they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.

According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Memphis has more unemployed people than any city or town in TN.  Nearly 30,000 people are unemployed in Memphis. God’s dreaming of the day when that number is zero. When...they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.

This is one of the texts Jesus has in mind in Matt. 8—the central text for our current series.  In that chapter Jesus shares God’s dream of a time when “many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Matt. 8:11 ESV)  God dreams of a time when people of every tongue and tribe find resources at the table of God.  This is the very same dream Micah writes about in Micah 4.

And we at Highland are committed to working towards that dream.  We at Highland are dedicated to making that dream a reality.  Our April 28 Outreach Contribution is one of the ways this this is happening.  Not only does that contribution fund our ministries to the nations, as we’ve seen over the last two Sundays.  But it fully funds our ministries to the need:

Macon Hall Elementary is filled with children from poor families.  We work in that school to benefit those students.

LaRose Elementary is also filled with children from needy homes.  We work in that school to benefit those students.

Lifeline is a crisis ministry aimed at helping people in the community with needs.

Member Services is a crisis ministry aimed at helping people in this congregation with needs.

Agape/FIT serves orphans, homeless women and children and many others in the community living in poverty.

Tennessee Children’s Home, Paragould Children’s Home, Sunnybrook Children’s Home, and Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch provide for children who have no resources.

And HopeWorks provides job training and life training for the unemployed.

These ministries, which are funded through our April 28 Outreach Contribution, help bring about God’s dream for the deprived.

We’ve asked Ron Wade to join us today to show us how this is happening through HopeWorks.  Ron is the executive director of HopeWorks.  Let’s watch this video and then listen to Ron.

VIDEO + Ron Wade and guest.

God dreams of the day when they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.  Thus, we’re asking you to contribute $151,000 next Sunday.  That’s about 4.5X what we give on an average Sunday.  Thus it will require sacrifice.  But it’s a sacrifice worth making.

I want to urge not only to pray about next Sunday’s contribution.  But spend time each day this week praying for our ministries to the needy.  They are listed on the back of your Link.  And let’s close by praying together for them…