Our message this morning is entitled, “Inward or Outward Focused?” How many of you have heard of churches being either inward focused or outward focused? I am sure some of you have encountered this idea at some point in your Christian walk. Leith Anderson, the pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota says, “Organizational vision goes in one of two directions – either inward or outward. An organization’s first priority is either serving itself or serving others.”(1)
When Anderson speaks of organizations he is referring to churches, and churches will usually exhibit one of two characteristics – they are either self-serving (inward focused), or they seek to serve others (outward focused). Jesus told us in Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus set an example for us to follow when he made this statement, and I believe we realize that it is our responsibility as individuals, and as a church, to serve others before we serve ourselves.
The passage of Scripture that we are going to examine this morning shows us the results of being either inward focused or outward focused. We are able to see the consequences of turning inward, versus the joy of looking outward and stepping in faith. So, let’s begin learning some of the characteristics of these two types of churches; and as we go along, begin asking yourselves what type of church we are, and what type of church do we want to become.
If We Turn Inward, We Will Die (vv. 3-4)
3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”
We find here four lepers who were hungry and searching for food. How did they and the rest of the people in the city arrive at this point of famine? The answer is that King Ben-hadad of Syria attacked King Jehoram and the city of Samaria in Israel, and with no way of escape the Israelites were placed under siege by the Syrian army. Since they were placed under siege and could not leave the city for food, they were forced into a situation of starvation. The only way out would have been for them to fight, and this would have required an extreme amount of faith in God’s power to deliver them.
Now, as I said in my introduction there are consequences to turning inward. The consequence for the Israelites’ refusal to fight back was horrible starvation. The starvation was so bad, that we read back in chapter 6, verse 25 of how the people were willing to eat dove droppings, and in verse 29 we see that some of the people began turning on each other and resorting to cannibalism. As the four lepers found out, when they talked about turning inward into the city, they would die. If they sat still and did nothing they would die as well. Sitting still and doing nothing, or turning inward will result in death.
The exact same thing will happen to churches that refuse to reach out to others and that turn inward, or that sit still and become complacent right where they are. People begin to starve in a spiritual sense, and when things are not going right they turn on one another – churches die. Deborah E. Bass wrote,
Somewhere along the way, many churches forget about their call to exist for nonmembers [or those outside the church walls]. They begin focusing their activities, concerns, and ministries inward. Pastors begin functioning as chaplains or caretakers of self-contained congregations. Members want more of their pastors’ attention focused on the pews and less on [those outside]. As inward-looking Christians, they lose their way. They cease to bear fruit and they begin to wither on the vine.(2)
And what happens whenever we wither on the vine long enough and don’t bear fruit? In John 15:6 Jesus stated, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” Ceasing to reach out to those outside the church walls, or ceasing to bear fruit results in death, and this is what happens when we turn inward – we shrivel up and we die.
Since I have mentioned how we can have inward focused churches, and that these types of churches can shrivel up and die, what does one look like? I believe that we would all like to know so that we can avoid becoming one of these inward focused churches, right? In an article entitled, “Evangelism for the Outward-focused Church,” five characteristics are presented in order to help us identify an inward focused church:
An inward focused church 1.) ministers to the existing congregation only, 2.) it is exclusively for the congregation. Maintaining facilities is often more important than people. The inward focused church 3.) makes little concerted effort to reach out to the community or to the world. There are no active evangelism committees or missions giving. This church 4.) makes it difficult for visitors to cross barriers because the church neither knows how to receive visitors nor how to get them to return. It is also 5.) preoccupied with long-established programs or ‘meetings’ rather than genuine ministry.(3) After hearing this information, take a moment to reflect upon our own church and ask yourself if we could be inward focused.
Now that we have seen that focusing inward is dangerous to our survival, what can be done to turn the situation around? It all starts by asking the right question, and the right question that we read here in the Scripture is, “Why are we sitting here until we die?” (v. 3). This is the point where we come to reality with our situation, and then admit that we need not sit around until everything falls apart. This is the point where we begin to discuss among ourselves things that can be done to receive the necessary nourishment to live and grow, and as we see here we cannot live by focusing only inward; we have to look out beyond ourselves to other possibilities.
They then decided that action had to be taken, and they realized that the only place they could find nourishment was in the camp of the Syrian army. And they said, “If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die” (v. 4). They basically said, “We will die while trying, but at least we will give it our best shot!” So, we see here that when they realized they were going to die that 1.) they asked what could be done, 2.) they formulated a plan which involved looking outward, and 3.) they became determined to see that plan through. So what happens next?
If We Step Out, God Steps In (vv. 5-7)
5 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. 6 For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses – the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!” 7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact – their tents, their horses, and their donkeys – and they fled for their lives.
After the lepers decided to take action, they looked outward to the camp of the Syrians. I want to pause here and go over some of the characteristics of an outward focused church. In the same article, which presented the five characteristics of the inward focused church, we are also given the five characteristics of the outward focused church:
The outward focused church 1.) obeys the Great Commission, and makes it their top priority. 2.) The pastor and staff are expected to do only limited outreach ministry: their job is to train the laity how to do it. This church 3.) views the ministry to the existing congregation as training, and encouraging the congregation to go out and invite, because eighty-two to eighty-five percent of visitors come because somebody invites them. This church shows that 4.) missions-mindedness is reflected in the church budget – the budget is created with the Great Commission in mind. And 5.) evangelism and education (Sunday school and other programs) are two sides of the same coin. Education is another means of promoting faith sharing.(4) Now, take a moment and think about whether or not this type of church (the outward focused church) sounds like us.
Now, let’s get back to the lepers! They reasoned, “It’s better to die while trying, because we are surely going to die by just sitting around here.” Their motivation was desperation, but sometimes desperation is exactly what we need to wake us up. There are times when we have to hit rock bottom before we will ever look up; and in our walk with the Lord it is often that desperation that results in us seeking hard after Him and being willing to take some steps of faith.
Their desperation resulted in looking outward, and in their willingness to step out in faith. Whenever we step out in faith, then this is the point when God steps in to deliver us. A good example of this is when Israel was commanded to cross the flooded Jordan River and go in and posses the Promised Land of Canaan. The waters did not recede until the priests stepped into the flooded river (Joshua 3:15-16).
In our main text, we see that the other people in the city didn’t have the faith to step out and go to the Syrian army. They would have rather starved to death than to take a chance to see if God would deliver them. We see, however, that when the lepers took a step of faith, then the Lord did indeed step in. He caused the Syrians to hear the noise of a great army, and they took off!
If We Step Out, We Have Good News (vv. 8-9)
8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. 9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
Look what happened after the lepers decided to look outward and take a step of faith – God delivered them from the Syrian army, and then He gave them abundance of provision. The lepers received such a blessing that there was not room enough to contain it. They not only found food and drink, but they found valuable treasures as well. If we keep looking inward then it will lead to death, but looking outward leads to life!
There is abundance when we step out, and we will be overjoyed by what we discover, so much so that we will just have to share the awesome news with others. The lepers said, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent . . . Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household” (v. 9). They just had to share the news! If we decide to look outward and step out in faith, the Lord will bless us so greatly that we will just have to share the news with all whom we meet! We see in verses 10-16 that the king of Israel and his army had to go and see for themselves what God had done. When people hear the good news about God’s blessings, you won’t be able to keep them away from this place!
Now, I want you to notice that the Israelites in Samaria were spared from hunger, but not because of anything that the majority of the people had done. Most of the Israelites hid in fear of the Syrian army. They were afraid to step out in faith and to trust that God would deliver them. It was four lepers who changed the fate of Samaria, four of the outcast and downtrodden of society.
If you are here today with a vision to reach outward and to minister to people outside of the church walls, then please don’t feel that your ideas don’t count, and please don’t feel like you are too small or too weak to make a difference. It was just four lepers who turned the city of Samaria from death to life. It was just a select few who were willing to step out in faith, but their decision benefited everyone.
If We Doubt, We Never Taste It (vv. 19-20)
19 Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.
Back in chapter 7, verses 1-2, we find that it was the prophet Elisha who had spoken these words to the officer. He told the officer, “Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” The commentator Warren Wiersbe tells us this means, “they would be able to buy six times as much food for one-fifth the cost.”(5) In other words, Elisha had predicted that the famine would end by the next day.
The officer’s response was one of skepticism, doubt, and a lack of faith in God’s power to save. Because he didn’t have faith that God would deliver them, he never tasted of the blessings. In fact, he died. Once again we are shown that if we do not have the faith to believe that things can be any different, and that our present situation can be turned around, then all we will do is stand around in one spot like a guard at a gate, and we will never taste of God’s bounty and goodness, and we will die. Standing still and turning inward will get us nowhere; we must look out beyond ourselves to the bounty that lies just beyond the border of the city, and we must journey there in faith.
Time of Reflection
I want to conclude with a brief message on our need to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. I really like a thought that Wiersbe provides us. He tells us concerning the guard who was trampled at the gate, “He heard the good news, he saw the proof of the message, but he died before he could enjoy it. What a warning to the sinner who delays receiving Christ!”(6)
So many of us hear the Good News of the gospel that tells us about how Jesus saved us from death and hell. The proof of what Jesus did for us was demonstrated in the resurrection, when Jesus rose from the grave revealing that He had power over sin and death. We have heard the good news, and we have seen the proof, but some of us refuse to have the faith to believe it. Some of us do believe it, but we wait too long to surrender our lives to Jesus because we are clinging to the things of the world.
If we wait too long, we could die before ever receiving Jesus as Savior, and if we die without Him then we will suffer eternal death in the flames of hell. Therefore, I urge to come and get your life right with Jesus today.
NOTES
(1) Leith Anderson, quoted in an article by Steve Bowen entitled, “It’s Where You Focus That Matters,” taken from the Internet in April 2005 at http://www.servant evangelism.com/sE-Mail2/11-01-01/sE-Mail%20November%202001.htm.
(2) Deborah E. Bass, “Congregational Transformation through the Discovery Church Journey,” an article taken from the Internet in April 2005 at http://gbgm-umc.org/now/00so/journey2.html.
(3) “Evangelism for the Outward-focused Church,” an article taken from the Internet in April 2005 at http://www.jacksonsnyder.com/arc/beyond/1.htm.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books), taken from Logos 2.1E on CD-ROM.
(6) Ibid.
