The Culture of Hope 12-10-06
Series: Creating a New Culture…in the church Rom. 15:13
I am indebted to John Burke’s book, “No Perfect People Allowed” for many of the basic ideas expressed in this series. It’s a great read!
Intro. I want to pray a special prayer for you this morning, it’s found in Rom. 15:13 – “I pray that God who gives you hope will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Hope…such a powerful concept in the bible and yet so often it’s absent from most of our lives.
Although we are one of the most prosperous generations to ever exist we’re still surrounded by broken, fragmented, angry and despairing people. Thoreau had it right when he wrote these sobering words, “Most people lead lives of quite desperation…an unconscious despair is concealed even under what we call the games and amusements of mankind.” Here’s what most people are experiencing – no matter what kinds of gimmicks and gadgets you have in this life, no matter how many bells and whistles you associate with your lifestyle choices…life still stinks! Do you know why? It’s because most people live their life w/o any sense of real hope. Now that’s understandable given the demise of our culture over the past 40 years. Think about it – we’ve sat back and watched the meltdown of the nuclear family, skyrocketing divorce rates, untold millions of abortions, the heartache of addiction, the shame of sexual misconduct and the compulsion of workaholics…all leaving the postmodern generation gasping for hope and yet w/o a clue where to find it.
The question is, “Why should the church be the purveyor of hope?” I’ll tell you why, because hope can’t be found anywhere else. The world offers its own special brand of hope, but it’s always an illusion. The world says put your hope in these kinds of people…politicians, superstars and athletes - but they always let us down. And even though we try to find a measure of hope in certain other things, we know deep down inside that our health will eventually fail us, we can lose our jobs, our homes can be repossessed, relationships do sour and nations eventually fall. So where is our hope? I believe it can be found in the church. Not in the organization, not in the building, but in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Listen to what the apostle Paul says in Eph. 2:12, “if you are w/o God then you are w/o hope.” The message we have to share with our culture is a message of hope, in fact it’s the only hope they have. That’s why we must work hard to create a culture of hope in this church…because generations are depending on us!
Last week we discussed how we could add certain ingredients to the soil of our church culture and change it for the better. If we want to have a culture of acceptance then we’ve got to let people come as they are. But when we talk about the culture of hope then we’ve got to let people know that they don’t have stay the way they are. Because of God’s grace, there’s real hope for them to change, not into something we want them to be, but into all that God has created them to be. Isn’t that a great message? You can come as you are, but you don’t have to stay that way. How do we create this kind of church culture? What’s it going to take for our church to give desperate people the kind of hope that’s literally life-changing?
The first ingredient is
1). Believing our own message.
It may sound strange to you but I’m not sure everyone believes the “good news” really is such good news. What we call the “gospel” is a GK word that means good news. But for many who are still struggling with faith, the good news sounds more like BAD news. In their mind they only hear rules and regulations, dos and don’ts. For many who live outside of the church our “good news” has become nothing more than finger pointing condemnation. Now I’m not saying that’s what we actually do, but it is the most common evaluation of church people from those who don’t attend church. Have you ever wondered why the world seems to get that picture? Why do they feel like we’re constantly condemning them instead of loving and accepting them?
I think its because most of us really do struggle believing the good news. The good news is the fact that a relationship with Jesus sets us free instead of binds us up. The Pharisees thought a relationship with God was all about conforming to some outward standards of righteousness. That’s why they had 615 different laws to follow. But when Jesus came on the scene, he rebuked them because they had burdened down the people with laws that had no ability to change a heart. At the core of the gospel message is this central truth – God will change your heart and that change will set you free. Here’s what I mean by being set free. Your relationship with God is not based on performance, but on His grace – His unmerited favor. You can’t do anything, you can’t perform any more religious duties that will make God love you more than he does right now. Here’s the good news…God is for us and not against us.
Before Jesus embarked on his preaching and teaching ministry he went to his hometown synagogue, stood before the people and read these words from Isaiah 61. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Jesus believed his message was good news because ordinary, sinful, struggling people like you and me would be set free, our spiritual blindness would be turned into sight and we’d receive the favor of the Lord.
Listen again to what Jesus promised – freedom, spiritual insight and God’s favor. I wonder what would happen in the Upstate if you and I really understood and believed that message? I’ve got a feeling it would change the way we deal with people who are still far away from God. Instead of condemning, pitying or just ignoring them…maybe we’d be able to offer them hope? Do you know what your friends and neighbors really need to hear from you and this church? They need to hear Jeremiah’s words, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jer. 29:11 NLT
2nd ingredient
2). Communicating a correct picture.
Creating a culture of hope is either helped or hindered by the way our community thinks about God. If our friends who are still far from have a distorted image of God, then they will never come to the church with the expectation of hope and acceptance. It is our responsibility as Christ followers to paint a compelling and accurate picture of our God as one who loves and cherishes hurting and broken people.
Do you know what the sad truth is? When many people outside of the church think about God they hear a song that goes something like this, (sing – Jesus HATES me this I know, for the church has told me so.) Maybe you’re thinking, “That can’t be true.” The church never says stuff like that. REALLY? Have you watched the news lately where Baptist churches hold rallies at funerals with signs that read “GOD HATES FAGS”. Do you remember a few years ago seeing the signs that said, “God HATES abortionists or God hates those who have abortions.” Depending on where you live you may hear from the pulpit that God hates those who drink or hates those who gamble or listen to certain kinds of music. The list goes on and on…no wonder our culture has a distorted image of God.
Now before we lay all the blame of those “Whacked Out” churches, maybe we ought to look deep within ourselves and see if our picture of God is really biblical. Let me show you what I mean.
Video – What does God look like? (3 min)
If our church is going to create a culture of hope that makes a difference in people’s lives, then our image of God must be true to the Biblical record. What is it about Jesus that would produce hope in a person’s life who is still far from God? How about his understanding? The bible says Jesus has experienced every kind of temptation that we have and yet he’s w/o sin. So Jesus understands how hard life can be, he knows how difficult it is to say no to temptation. How important do you think it is for the world to know that Jesus really does forgive our sins? Do you remember when the Pharisees caught that woman in the act of adultery? They wanted to kill her on the spot but Jesus offered her the only thing that could change her life…forgiveness. He said not only do I forgive you, but go and sin no more. Jesus was creating a come as you are, but don’t stay that way culture. I don’t think the world will ever truly have the kind of hope we’re talking about until they believe that God loves them. And here’s the catch – most people think that God loves them when they’re good and he hates them when they’re bad. That is a lie – it’s a distorted picture of God. If God loves you only when you’re good then none of us have a chance of experiencing God’s love. That’s what the book of Romans says – there are none righteous, there are none good! So how do we tell the world about God’s love? We point them to the cross. That’s where God proved his love for sinners like you and me and all of those who are still far from God. The bible says, “Christ died for us, even while we were yet sinners”.
Did you know that the biblical word for hope is much more than a vague feeling that something good might happen? It’s a certainty! It’s a belief that sustains us, it holds us up under than most adverse circumstances and it enables us to endure life when all hell is breaking loose. Now where does that kind of hope come from? It comes from the knowledge that God loves me so much that he was willing to let his Son die on the cross and pay for my sins so that I might have a personal and eternal relationship with Him. That’s the kind of picture of God that produces hope in a hopeless generation.
3rd ingredient
3). Providing the tools for growth.
A culture of hope has to offer tangible help for those who want God to change their lives. I don’t think there’s anything sadder than to see Christians who have been members of a church for ages and yet they’ve never grown spiritually mature. Oh they may pride themselves of the things they don’t do – they don’t smoke, drink, cuss or have an affair. But if you could look at them internally you’d find that they’re still controlled by greed, envy, jealousy, lust, impatience, fear, anxiety and worry. And for many modern church members that’s OK because they’re content with a faith that only touches the outward parts of their life.
You need to hear and understand that a culture of hope is never content with a thin veneer of religion. We’ve got to push past the outward expressions of faith and deal with those things that actually hinder a life filled with Hope.
So what are the tools our church can offer a hopeless culture? There are 3 basic tools you’ll find here at The Mount. First – a powerful worship experience. We work hard at making it possible for you experience the presence of God every Sunday morning. What you see on Sunday mornings doesn’t just happen, its not a coincidence that our songs and videos and messages seem to fit neatly together. NO! The staff and various other teams are working weeks in advance so that you and your “unchurched” friends can experience real, life-changing worship. This weekly event shouldn’t be seen just as “church” but as an opportunity for you to invest in the lives of those friends and neighbors who are still far from God. The greatest asset this church has is our Sunday worship experience, so use it well.
The second tool is our Life Group ministry. These small groups are designed for building community within the community. The LG is where you’ll find life-long friendships. It’s the only place where you can truly be YOU – where you can be truthful with your struggles and excited about your victories. It’s in this small group context where real, sustained and measurable growth can happen. It won’t happen in the bigger, more impersonal worship experience. In fact, we’ve found that if you don’t connect to a L.G. in this church then the chances are pretty good that you won’t be here much longer than a year or two. Listen to me – we’ve not gone to the LG model just because we wanted to try something new. NO – this model is our future because we know that spiritual growth and maturity are the results of the accountability that happens in a small group. Here’s a point of application – if you’re not connected to a LG yet, then find one today!
The third tool our church offers is ministry. Now I know that this word often conjures up images of professional ministers, like myself. But that’s not what I mean. Doing ministry of any kind has the capacity of producing hope in your life. Do you know why? Because you can see the difference you make in someone else’s life. I don’t have the time to go through a list of all the ministries we have here at The Mount. I just want you to know – if you have a desire to grow spiritually mature, then that won’t happen w/o giving yourself to ministry. Find a place and plug in!
When a culture of hope is engrained in a church that place begins to see radical changes in their community and in the lives of those they are reaching. And here’s the real advantage for this kind of culture. When hopeless people find hope here in our church, then they become the greatest advocates for our church. In other words, when lost people get found, then they’re ready to do what ever it takes to find more lost people.
Maybe you’re here this morning and you feel hopeless. Let me encourage you with these words – God has a plan for your life, it’s a plan with a future and a hope. All you need to do is surrender to his leadership in your life. Why don’t you do that right now?
