Series:  Balanced Priorities, #3

January 21, 2007

ACROSS THE SEA AND ACROSS THE STREET

I.        Good News!

          I’ve got great news!  I read this week that scientists have found a way to genetically modify a certain T-cell in our bodies, which is part of the body’s natural immune system, to attack cancer cells.  And they’re close to being able to train it to attack different kinds of cancer cells and destroy them!  Wow! 

          Wouldn’t that be good news?  How we all long for the day when we can cure cancer as effectively as we can so many other diseases.  It would be fantastic news for the whole world, and we would be the first to notify friends and families who are affected by cancer that there is a treatment.

          That day isn’t here yet, but we do have news that is, really, even greater than that.  I know it’s hard to believe that anything could be greater than a cure for cancer, but the good news we have to share is that God has found a cure for the disease of sin that afflicts the entire human race. This disease not only kills our bodies, but it kills our spirits, too.  It kills us for eternity, not just once.  How great to know that our friends can be spared this horrible death, that they can be made so healthy in their spirits that not even physical death can keep them down permanently.  This news is so great that we just have to tell people about it, because we see our friends, and our family members suffering with the disease of sin, and we see what it does to them.  It robs them of joy; it causes them to short-circuit their planning for life so that they never consider what comes after they die; it robs them of purpose and meaning, so that they get hooked into short-term pleasures because that’s all they know about.  It makes them selfish, and greedy, etc.   But we know there is a cure for that, so we are eager to tell them about it. 

                   A.      The Great Commission    Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-47; John 20:21

                   Praise God somebody told the person who led us to Christ about it, and the person who led them to Christ, and the one before that…all the way back to Jesus.  He’s the one who started this whole “good news” business.  And it must have been pretty important, because we find a version of it in all four gospels.  Let’s just review those briefly.  We call this the Great Commission.

·        Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

·        Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

·        Luke 24:46-47, “He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, [47] and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’”

·        John 20:21, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

II.       Across the Sea   Acts 1:8

          Jesus said all these things before He died.  After He had risen from the dead, just before He ascended to heaven, He said to His followers, Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  As you read through the book of Acts, you discover that this is sort of an outline for that book, as it recounts the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem, to the surrounding area of Judea, to the neighboring country of Samaria, and on to Asia and Macedonia.  The Apostle Paul was the one who did most of it at first, traveling on three long trips around the Mediterranean area, preaching the good news, and starting churches filled with people who believed it.  Through each of those churches, the gospel spread, very quickly, until it reached Rome, the center of the western world.  About 250 years later, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman Empire.  By 500 A.D., the good news had significantly affected most of western Europe.  From about 500 A.D. to 1500 A.D. the faith moved slowly, if at all.  It seemed to be trapped in national and church politics, and fell into a very weakened state spiritually, even though it had enormous political power.  But starting with the Reformation, people rediscovered the Great Commission, and they began taking the good news of Christ’s cure to far away places again.  William Carey, and Hudson Taylor, and the Moravians, and even the Jesuits, risked great dangers to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. 

          There came a day when people thought that they had pretty much fulfilled the Great Commission, because there were Christians in every country on earth.  But then the concept of people groups was discovered, and we realized that we had a long way to go.  Yes, there were Christians in every country in Africa, but there were hundreds, if not thousands, of very distinct people groups in Africa, and the gospel didn’t spread very easily from one to another.  When Barbie and I visited Brett and Marla Shideler in Cameroon in 2004, we learned that there were still a couple hundred people groups in northern Cameroon who still did not have the Bible in their own heart language.  Yes, some of them could read it in French, or English, but it didn’t speak to their hearts, just as you would struggle reading the Bible in Spanish, or another language you had learned in school.  We now know that there are still several thousand people groups in the world (comprising several billion people) who do not have hardly any one to tell them the good news that God loves them.  There are no churches, no Christian radio or tv stations, no Bibles, no Christian bookstores or music groups—nothing!  So we still have a lot of work to do to finish the Great Commission. 

          That’s why I am so excited about the missions emphasis in our church!  What a great church this is!  We support 28 missionary households in full time ministry, and a few additional organizations as well.  Our 2007 budget calls for $236,000 for missions, or 26% of our budget.  That’s awesome.  That’s quite a chunk of our budget, and we give it gladly.   And how great to see 31 from our church attend the Urbana Missions conference, exposing themselves to great missions teaching and asking God where He wants them in the world. 

          Increasingly, we don’t just write the checks; we go ourselves.  Last year we sent short term mission trips to Guatemala, a Navajo reservation, and three times to New Orleans.  Our team just got back last weekend from a work trip to Costa Rica.  This year, we are also planning trips to Jamaica, Mexico, Romania, and doing a VBS in Alamosa, CO. 

          How many of you have ever been on a short term mission?  I’d like to see many more go in the future.  There are trips for all types and all levels.  Some are very aggressively evangelistic; others are more service and work oriented.  Some are far away and relatively expensive; others are much closer and cheaper.  But there is something life-changing about being in a foreign culture, seeing the people, smelling the atmosphere, eating the food, observing the customs, that has a much greater impact on us than just hearing other people tell about their experiences. 

          So when it comes to our third Priority, Evangelize the World, I think we’re doing a pretty good job of going across the sea with the good news of Christ.  The Great Commission as Jesus gave it in Acts is clear that we need to take this good news to the ends of the earth, and we’re working on it!

          But that’s only half of the picture.  Samaria and the ends of the earth are at one end of the balance we need, but Jerusalem and Judea are the other end.  And we do need to be balanced in this, as we are in the other Two Priorities of the Christian life.  Priority One is our relationship with Christ, where we need to both worship and work for Him.  Priority Two is our relationships in the Body of Christ, the Church, and we need to find the balance of both encouraging and exhorting one another, of both warm fuzzies and accountability.  This week we are looking at our third Priority, our relationship with the world for which Christ died, where we have to find a balance between taking the good news of the gospel across the sea, and across the street.

III.      Both

          The goal in these two tasks is the same in both cases: we want to make fully devoted followers of Christ everywhere—people who love Jesus with all their heart, and will follow Him in every aspect of their lives.  But in spite of the goal being the same, the tasks are very different in lots of ways.  Two of those differences are in the number of people and amount of money that are involved in each.  Here’s a slide that shows this graphically.  The number of people involved is shown in blue here; the amount of money it takes is in yellow.  The horizontal scale represents the cultural distance (not the geographical distance) that people are from us.  So for example, the Mexicans living in Loveland may be geographically close to us, but if they are recently here from Mexico, and don’t speak much English, they are culturally farther away.  People in India or China or Iraq are on the far right end of this scale. 

          So you can see that if we are going to try to go across the sea, (on the right side of the chart) few of us can be involved in that (very little blue) and it takes a ton of money (lots of yellow).  Relatively far fewer people are gifted by God to be cross-cultural missionaries.  It takes a lot of time and effort and special gifts from God to be effective sharers of the good news in a different culture. On the left side of the chart, we’re trying to go across the street, and here all of us can be involved (lots of blue) but it takes very little money (not much yellow) because it costs virtually nothing to walk across the street to talk to your neighbor, or to invite them to go to a movie or a game with you. 

          Both ends of this chart are vitally important.  Both tasks—across the sea and across the street—are important because all people are vitally important to God.  That’s why we need to be balanced in this third priority of our lives. 

IV.     Across the Street

          In some ways, going across the street is harder.  You would think it would be easier, because we know their language, we eat the same food, we dress the same, we watch the same tv shows and listen to much of the same music.  We’re a lot alike; we don’t have to cross any cultural barriers. 

          A.      Barriers

                   There are barriers, though, and they are mostly in our own heads.  One is fear of rejection.  We’re afraid that if we talk about “religion” too much, our friends will reject us.  The other is embarrassment.  We’re afraid that someone will ask us a question we don’t know how to answer, and we’ll feel like a fool.  So we let our fears for ourselves, for our own emotional comfort, get in the way of sharing the best news in the world.  Some of us have had negative experiences with overly aggressive “evangelists”, so we go too far the other way to avoid being like that.  Some of us are cowed by our culture’s rules about what is politically correct, and that makes us reluctant to talk about God.  How could we possibly get over these obstacles?

          B.      Build friendships

                   I am convinced that the way over the barriers for me is through friendship, and I think this is true for many of you, as well.  As an introvert, I am not very comfortable talking to strangers about much of anything except the weather.  I am certainly not going to start a conversation about the most personal thing in the world, namely the state of their soul.  I admire and respect those who can do it, and I wish I were like that, but I have 47 years of experience that all say it probably isn’t going to happen for me. 

          But I care about the people I know who do not yet know the love of Christ.  I want them to have the meaning and purpose and joy in life that I find in serving Jesus.  I need to invest more time in friendships with these people, so that it will be more comfortable for me to talk about important things with them. 

          In a friendship, I am less likely to be concerned that they will reject me out of hand.  They may think I’m a little “religious”, but if I’m at least authentic with them, and don’t pretend to be better than they are, or better than I really am, they’ll put up with that.  Also in a friendship, if a question comes up that I can’t answer, I’ll feel more comfortable telling them that I’ll try to find the answer and get back to them.  They’re not going to make fun of me—we’re friends. 

          There are all sorts of great stories about love conquering major obstacles.  Like Romeo and Juliet overcoming the hostility of their two families and all of that.  The same thing can happen in our efforts to get over the barriers that prevent us from sharing the best news in the world with people.  But we have to love them first.  I don’t think you can love someone you don’t know very well.  How well do we know the people God has put us near?  I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of acquaintances, but not so many close friends among folks who don’t go to church or have any kind of relationship with Jesus.  And you can’t build a friendship with someone if you never spend time with them.  So I think the first step for many of us is just to make a commitment to spend more time with people who are not in love with the Lord. 

          C.      Ask about their stories

                    What do you do when you are with friends?  You talk about things that are of common interest, and after a while, you get to the place where you can talk about things that are important to you.  But above all, ask questions.  Don’t talk about yourself all the time; ask them about their story.  Most people love to talk about themselves, and if you ask good questions, and really want to know the answer, they’ll be glad to tell you their story.  What’s important to them?  What do they think about the state of the world?  If they had absolute power, what would they do to change the world?  Where is the growing edge for them right now—what are they working on to improve themselves?  What are the challenges they are facing?  How are they coping with those?  Do they ever think about God?  What role does He play in their lives?  Here are some questions that might help you get further into your friend’s life.  As you pray for people, review these questions, and see if they suggest something you could talk about with your friends.  

25 Fantastic Questions that Get Beyond “How Are You?”[1]

1.                 Who is someone who had a positive influence on your life as you were growing up.  How did he or she affect your life?

2.                 What’s a day in your life that you would love to re-live, if you could?

3.                 What are some hobbies you had as a kid?  How about today?

4.                 What would you change about yourself if you could?

5.                 What was an embarrassing moment for you in grade school?

6.                 Looking back over the past 5 years, what are some of the ways you have changed?

7.                 What is one of your all-time favorite books/movies, and what did you like about it?

8.                 What are some of the things you are interested in, and how did you get started in those?

9.                 What’s one of the most daring things you’ve ever done?

10.             Who is someone you’d really like to meet?  Why?

11.             What’s one accomplishment that you feel really proud of?  Why?

12.             How did you meet your wife/husband?  OR  What are some of the qualities you are looking for in a mate?

13.             If you were to choose another career besides your own, what would it be, and why?  OR, If money were no object, what would you like to be doing with your life? 

14.             What was a family vacation that really stands out to you?  Why?

15.             What’s a personal dream you hope will come true some day?

16.             How are you like your mother?  father? 

17.             What is something you like least about your job?

18.             If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

19.             Who was one of your childhood heroes, and what did you admire about him/her?

20.             If you were an animal, what would you be?  (ex: I’d be a golden retriever, because I’m very loyal.)

21.             What’s a major regret you have in your life?

22.             What do you think Jesus would say about the churches you are aware of today?

23.             Did you have any kind of religious background as a child?  What effect do you think that has had on you?

24.             Where does God fit in your life?  OR  How would you describe your relationship with God?

25.             If you were to die tonight, and God were to ask you why He should let you into heaven, what would you say?

          D.      Be sensitive to the Spirit

                    I think the key to being effective in sharing the good news is simply to be sensitive to the nudges of the Holy Spirit.  What’s the next step with your friend? As they are telling you their story, be asking the Holy Spirit what you are supposed to do with what they are telling you.  If He says invite them to church, or ask about their wife’s health, do it.  If He says ask if you can pray for their mother who just had a fall, do it.  Let Him suggest the next steps. You don’t have to do any more than the Spirit says at any one time.  You may find that you will have a delightful conversation that really gets deep into spiritual matters, or you may find that it ends with your getting their car out of the snow bank.  That’s not up to you.  Just do whatever the Spirit says.

          The next question is, How could you be that sensitive to the Holy Spirit?  I think it starts with asking Him to speak to you.  Put this in your prayer notebook, or on a sticky note on your Bible, so you will remember to pray it every day:  “Holy Spirit, guide me today to do exactly what you want with those who are not yet yours.  If I hear, I will obey, no matter what it is.”  I remember so clearly the time I was coming back from an evangelism conference in Atlanta, I think it was.  I sat down on the plane, settled in to my seat next to a young woman with a small child in her lap, greeted her perfunctorily, and introvertedly dove into my book as I usually do.  As I tried to read, this woman kept asking me questions:  “Are you on business or pleasure?”  “What business are you in?”  “Oh, you’re a pastor—do you do marriage counseling?”  So for the first hour and a half of our flight, we talked about marriage, because hers was in trouble.  And for the next hour and a half, we talked about Christianity.  Because even though I, as an introvert, would have dearly loved to read my book, it was clear that the Spirit was saying, Talk to this woman!  Sometimes He makes it so obvious even I can’t miss it! But our prayer is, Lord, don’t let me miss an opportunity.  Open the door for conversation, lead me to the next steps, and make me sensitive to your guidance. 

V.      Faith Evangelical Church

          I am increasingly convinced that this is a great church.  I say that with all humility, because I don’t think I am responsible for that.  God has brought fantastic people to this church, and He has blessed us in so many ways.  I see what is going on in other churches in town, or around the country, and I praise God that He has spared us so much of the pain that many of them experience.  I visit other churches on vacation, and I always come back impressed and grateful for what God is doing here.  We have been blessed with a terrific staff, with unity, and we are pretty well balanced in the Three Priorities. 

          There’s always room for growth, but I do think that the vast majority of us want more of God in our lives – Priority One.  We come on Sunday hungry for more of Him, and we get a feast of worship.  I am so grateful that God has allowed us to have  two different congregations, with two different worship styles living harmoniously under one roof.  Sure, there are tensions and challenges as we try to adapt and compromise for each other, but that’s part of living together as a family of God.  The high percentage of volunteers, the very generous giving, especially to missions, the large number of people in Bible studies during the week—all these things indicate a church that is really trying to put God first—to exalt the Son. 

          Our relationships within the Body could always be better, and I’m particularly concerned about the many marriages that are on thin ice, but in general, we do love each other, and we do try hard to build each other up.  There are close friendships to be had here, if you will make the effort to be a friend.  Accountability relationships are springing up.  People are getting into intentional mentoring situations.  Folks are working at forgiving hurts they’ve received.  We’re making progress in Priority Two.

          And in Priority Three, we have a lot going for us.  I’ve already mentioned how strong we are in going across the sea, both in terms of sending others, and in going ourselves.  When it comes to going across the street, our youth groups have led the way, sharing the good news with their friends, and many teens come to faith in Christ here every year.  The same is true in our children’s ministry, where the good news is faithfully presented all through the year, and children are given an opportunity to give their lives to Jesus. 

          As I look at our church from this high level of the Three Priorities, I see just one area where we are seriously lacking, and that is in terms of evangelism among adults.  When people join our church each fall and spring, very few of those join by profession of faith.  Most of them are already Christians when they come to us.  We are just recirculating the saints, shuffling the sheep, however you want to say it.  But the net effect is that the kingdom of God is not growing among the adult population of Loveland through our efforts.  Most of us here have been Christians for many years, and we hardly even know anyone our age whose life has been recently transformed by the power of God.  That’s deadly for us, because it causes us to doubt whether God is really in the business of changing lives any more.

          As a leader, I often find it difficult to do what many other pastors seem to do naturally—to make pronouncements about what is and is not the will of God for their church.  But this much I know:  It is God’s will for us to become an evangelistic church.  It is God’s will for every congregation of His people to be reproducing themselves in their own culture.  It will not do to cop out of this responsibility by saying, Well, evangelism is for some other churches in town, and then our role is to build people up in their faith.  There is no question that each church has a specific role to play with a specific slice of the city’s population; and there is no doubt that we are to build everyone up in their faith—edify the Body.  But every church, including ours, stands under the Great Commission that we looked at before:  Make disciples of all people groups; preach the good news to every creature; be His witnesses in [our] Jerusalem. 

          And here’s the good news:  because this is the will of God for Faith Church, God is going to do it.  It will be His power, His love, His Spirit at work, and He is going to transform us into a church that exists for those who are not yet here.  He is going to give us His love for the people Jesus died for who do not yet know His love.  He is going to lay this powerful word on our hearts:  2 Cor. 5:19, “…God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. [20] We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 

          Because, friends, this is where the fun is!  This is where the action is, on the front lines of the Kingdom of God.  Just think what it would mean to you, personally—think what it would do for your faith and joy in God, to see that crusty neighbor soften their heart and give their life to Jesus.  Think what it would be like to see your co-worker, who is so apathetic about God, be transformed into a flaming follower of Christ.  Think of the unspeakable joy if that family member who has been away from God so long would come to their senses and return to the Father.  Folks, we don’t want to miss out on this!  We want to be part of God’s solution.  We don’t want to be spectators, we want to be players. 

          Think what it would mean to our church—to our worship services, and our Sunday School classes, and our small groups, to have tons of new believers here, excited about their new relationship with Jesus, growing and changing every week, asking great questions that we have long ago forgotten, and themselves reaching out to their circle of friends with God’s love.  It would totally change our church!   We don’t want to miss out on that;  by God’s grace and power, we will not miss out on that. The only way we could miss it is if we were disobedient, and we love Him too much to do that.  We will become a church that glorifies God fully in all thee priorities.