A few weeks ago I was sitting at my desk planning my sermon schedule for the holiday season. I came up with topics for Advent, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, but I really wasn't sure what would be appropriate for the first Sunday of the year 2000. So, I paged through my files and came across an interesting message I had preached on December 31, 1989 - ten years ago. What I had done in that sermon was make some predictions about the 1990s. I focused on obstacles that I thought the evangelical church would face in that decade and opportunities I believed that God would provide. And, do you know what? I maybe didn't exactly hit the nail on the head, but I hit it pretty squarely. In other words, what I predicted ten years ago basically came true. Now, don't worry. I'm not going to show up in any of those ads for the Psychotic Hotline. I don't have any of those types of powers, nor do I want them. I also don't claim to be a prophet in the biblical sense, at least like the Old Testament prophets who would foretell the future and could face the death penalty if what they said did not come to pass. What I did ten years ago was make some educated guesses, based on my knowledge of the Bible and the world in which we live. So, what I want to do today is look both ways. We are going to look back at some of the obstacles and opportunities the church has faced the last decade, and look ahead at some obstacles and opportunities which may be in our path during the next ten years. Now, this is a different type of sermon from what I usually preach, but let's pray that God would use it to encourage and challenge each of us today.
We are going to take a look at three predictions which I made ten years ago. The first prediction was that the church would face a society which was more and more secular. Christians would feel increasingly uncomfortable because of a growing gap between the biblical values we cherish and the prevailing attitudes of our culture. There would also be a growing number of people who could best be described, not just as non-Christian, but as anti-Christian. What has happened in the '90s? Pretty much what I just said. Oh, there have been some spiritual bright spots the past ten years. The "Promise Keepers" movement impacted the lives of literally millions of men. Recently, women have been in the spotlight with gatherings like the "Women of Faith" conferences. Christian conservatives continue to be a potent force in American politics, though their influence probably peaked in 1994. Most evangelical denominations can point to some glowing growth statistics for the last ten years. This Sunday there are probably 35% more people attending a worship service in Baptist General Conference churches than there were ten years ago, chiefly because we have started a lot of new churches in recent years. Professional athletes, politicians, and other celebrities have been more vocal about their faith in Christ than in the past. WWJD, which stands for "What Would Jesus Do?" has become a symbol worn by millions across our country. There are some bright spots but, in the big picture, secularism is thriving and America has indeed become a post-Christian society.
The media and higher education are two extremely powerful institutions in our culture, and during the last ten years they have grown more and more hostile to Christianity. Yes, Touched By An Angel continues to be a popular television series, but the vast majority of movies and TV shows today depict values and lifestyles very much opposed to Christianity. Do you remember the controversy a few years ago when Ellen Degeneres came out of the closet and became the first openly homosexual, or lesbian, character on a television series? Now almost every sitcom has at least one "gay" character. Polls show that in the past decade, the percent of Americans who want the government to recognize homosexual marriages has grown from 20% to 40%. In our schools, prayer is prohibited, not just in the classrooms, but during the past ten years prayer has been banned at high school commencements and football games. Even in our area, Christian students have been told not to speak of their Christian faith when they speak at a graduation ceremony. Different polls show that a growing number of people see the "religious right," or "fundamental Christians," as the biggest threat to freedom in our country.
I also said in my sermon ten years ago that, because of the secularization of our culture, there would be a growing number of people with almost no knowledge of Christianity. There would be more and more young people who had no idea what Christmas and Easter were about. Those who work with children in our Club program have seen that come true. Language that Christians have traditionally used, such as "being washed in the blood of the Lamb" or even "getting saved" have become meaningless to a growing percent of people. However, I also said this would provide a great opportunity for the church, and I believe it has. In the past, there were lots of folks who had no interest in the gospel because they thought they were a Christian just because they lived in America. The phrase "becoming a Christian" meant nothing, because they assumed one was born that way. Often, they had a taste of Christianity which inoculated them from the real thing. Well, nowadays, less and less people have had that inoculation. Many folks who used to call themselves Christians, don't use that label anymore. That may not seem like good news, but these people are often much more open to hearing the gospel message than the religious folks who don't know Jesus Christ. That has always been true. In Jesus' day, there was no group of people who had a harder time embracing Him and His message than the very religious Pharisees. Perhaps one of the reasons for a bright spot like "Promise Keepers" during the '90s was that to many men, biblical Christianity was something new and fresh.
Well, what is ahead in the next decade? Probably more of the same. But, I think we will see a new trend. I believe there will be a growing gap between the values of the "cultural establishment" and those of ordinary people. By the "cultural establishment," I mean the leaders in media, political and academic circles, and by ordinary people I mean folks like those you and I know. This is evident already when it comes to the abortion issue. Though the media gives the impression that what they call "a woman's right to choose" has become accepted by almost everyone, surveys show that the American people as a whole are actually more pro-life today than they were a few years ago. This gap can also be seen in the evolution controversy. Evolution is consistently presented as a fact in classrooms and television science shows, but surveys show that most Americans believe in creation. I suspect biblical Christianity will be increasingly portrayed as a fringe movement by the media, but at the same time I believe that, by God's grace, more and more people will put their trust in Jesus Christ and become genuine Christians. We will probably face greater opposition during the next decade; there may even be persecution of some type, but I believe if we are faithful in presenting God's Word to the people around us, we will reap a wonderful harvest.
The second obstacle that I predicted the church would face in the '90s was a growth of alternative religions. I said that Eastern religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and New Age groups would especially flourish. What has happened? Well, five years ago it was estimated that there were 350,000 Hindus in the United States and now there are over a million. Though many of us tend to think of New Agers and people who believe in reincarnation as somewhat bizarre, they have really become very mainstream in many parts of American society. I also said that flowing out of this growth in Eastern religion would be a new radical type of environmentalism which would border on being a pantheistic religion, which is the worship of the earth. I think that may have happened. I believe it is folks in the logging industry who have filed a lawsuit, claiming that some environmentalists violated the 1st Amendment because they are using the government to force their religion on others. I also predicted that Islam would grow rapidly in our country during the '90s. Again, in the last five years, the number of Muslims in the United States has grown from 3« million to 5« million and, just as I thought, the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses remain very strong in our nation. As someone said, "Religion may be stronger now in the United States than in any time in history. It is just that Christianity has lost its dominate role."
Ten years ago I said the opportunity coinciding with this growth in other religions is that people would be more interested in talking about religion and spiritual things. I said that would be kind of like a "home court advantage" for the evangelical church. When it comes to spiritual truth, no religion stands up to Christianity. There is no religious leader in the world who is a match for Jesus. The historical evidence and logical arguments both give a big edge to Christianity. The transformed lives of Christians, the way God works in our lives, is a powerful testimony to the reality of our faith. That is what I said in 1989, and I still believe it is true. I don't believe, however, that the church has been able to take real advantage of this opportunity. I did not foresee how some of these other religions would fit in with American culture so much better than biblical Christianity. The spread of post-modern thinking means that more and more folks don't care if a religion is true, don't care what the historical evidence is, but they just want something that will make them feel good and won't interfere with their lifestyle too much. They also prefer religions which are very accepting of other faiths. Frankly, Hinduism is probably much better suited to do that than Christianity. Though Christianity remains a vital force in American life, more and more people continue to opt for other religions.
What is ahead? Again, I suspect we will see more of the same. Something that I think will receive a lot more attention in the next ten years is the animal rights movement. A couple of months ago, I watched a PETA awards banquet on television and I was horrified. PETA stands for "People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals." These folks are not just trying to keep people from kicking their dogs. And, frankly, banning trapping and hunting may be their more modest objectives. For many, their ultimate goal is that animals, at least some of them, will be given the same rights as human beings. What shocked me was how many celebrities, especially from Hollywood, were there endorsing PETA and its agenda. This movement is growing quite rapidly, and the group's leaders definitely see Christianity as an enemy. Because the Bible teaches, Genesis 1, that human beings are made in the image of God and are to rule over the animal kingdom, there is a real conflict between the Christian worldview and PETA's understanding of reality.
I also think we are going to face a big challenge as we seek to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father but through Him. That exclusive claim is seen by some as very offensive because it doesn't show proper respect for other religions. Many call it intolerant. You may have read my Newsletter article where I wrote about how Congressman Jim McDermott from Washington State sent a letter to the Southern Baptist Convention, scolding them for their intolerant, hateful attitude toward Hindus. The Southern Baptists merely encourage their members to pray for the Hindu people and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them when opportunities arise. I suspect that during the next ten years, efforts that Christians make to ask people to turn from another religion to faith in Jesus Christ will often be labeled as intolerant and hateful. Will there be serious efforts to make such evangelism illegal? Will those efforts succeed? I don't know. But, we'd better be prepared to explain why we feel the need to encourage people, who already have their own religion, to trust in Jesus Christ. I am an optimist. I do believe that through His Spirit, God is going to bring many people in our nation and community to faith in Jesus. But, it is not going to be easy. We need to be praying that God will enable us to be faithful, no matter what type of opposition we face from other religions and their allies.
The third obstacle I predicted the church would face in the '90s was advances in technology. What has happened? Well, I said that 90% of the homes in the United States would have a computer by the year 2000. That percent is a little high, but there is no doubt that personal computers, e-mail and the Internet have meant big changes in the lives of many. I said we would probably enjoy continued prosperity in our country during the '90s, but that it was unlikely the economy would be as good as it was in the '80s. There I underestimated what would happen. The economy boom of the last decade is even greater than what happened the ten years before. The stock market (both the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq) is at an all-time high. Our standard of living has continued to increase. Certainly there are segments of our economy which have had a hard time. Farmers have seen some very difficult years. Here on the Range we know the iron mining industry is always rather fragile. But in general, people have more money to spend than ever. Ten years ago I said that I suspected Christmas '99 would be even more materialistic than Christmas '89, and I'm sure it was. Buying things, lots of things, expensive things, is a very important part of life for a lot of people, including many of us.
As I predicted, the advances in technology and economic prosperity have brought both obstacles and opportunity for the church during the '90s. People still work long hours and often don't have time for church, because they have to make a little extra money to buy something which they have convinced themselves they really need. Just as I thought, many people have gotten so absorbed in a high-tech cyber world that they have lost touch with God and with other people. Now actually, things have not gotten quite as bad as I feared. Divorce rates are actually down from where they were ten years ago, and though the traditional family continues to be under attack from many sides, it is holding its own. But there are a lot of hurting people out there. They are very lonely. And they are finding out that running a personals ad in the newspaper or linking up with anonymous people in Internet chat rooms is not the answer. In our very high-tech world, people are more aware than ever of the need for relationships which are built on genuine love. In recent years, Christians have had the opportunity to show people that love can be found in Jesus Christ and in His church. There are probably people in this room today who are attending church because they found it is a place where others genuinely care about them.
What is ahead? One new problem we will face is a group of people losing touch with reality. The focus of much of our new technology is entertainment. We work so hard on amusing ourselves. Virtual reality, whether it is through computer games or whatever, is becoming more and more real. The Holidecks of Star Trek space ships, where people are able to become participants in worlds which they themselves create, are coming closer and closer to reality. What is going to happen is that there will be a growing number of people who will treat their imaginary, virtual reality worlds as real, and will ignore some of their responsibilities and relationships in the real world. These will not be easy folks to reach, but they will end up to be hurting folks who desperately need to get in touch with the cornerstone of reality Himself, Jesus Christ. Otherwise, I suspect that economic prosperity will continue in our country. Technology will provide us with gadgets which will make life more convenient. Medical advances will increase our life spans. Ten years from now, most folks will probably think life is pretty good and they may try to convince themselves to not worry about their souls. But two very important realities will continue to confront all of us. First, as Pascal said, we will all still have that God-shaped vacuum inside. No matter how hard we try, we are not going to experience true happiness apart from a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It won't happen. No computer game can do that for us. Secondly, we will still be mortals. Unless Christ returns, death will remain an eventual certainty. Oh, people might live to be 90 instead of 80, but everyone will still die. As Christians we have the opportunity to remind people that Jesus Christ is the One who has conquered death, and that He alone is able to help us find eternal life. The message that Jesus Christ offers victory over death itself will be just as relevant and essential in 2010 as it is today.
Friends, as we close, I want to read a couple of verses which are part of what Jesus had to say to the church in Philadelphia -- not Pennsylvania, but Asia Minor -- in the 1st Century. Revelation 3:7,8 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Now, I don't want to take these verses out of context, but I really believe they apply to First Baptist Church right now. God is opening a door of new opportunities for our church as we begin the new millennium. Though there may be obstacles in front of that door, though we may face big challenges, we need to make sure we don't miss those opportunities. I also remind you that no matter what you or I think the future will bring, either for our world or for our individual lives, God is still in control. James 4:13-15 is very clear. We can make plans, but nothing comes about unless it is part of God's plan. God always has the option of surprising us. Sometime in the next decade, Jesus Christ may return to earth and establish His Kingdom. Maybe He will return this year, maybe it will not be for another thousand years. That is up to God. But, I do know that no matter what happens, God will still be the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. I know that ten years from now, or 1000 years from now, all those who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can still be sure of experiencing His grace and salvation. I know that as long as we are on this earth, God has a purpose for us as His people. And I do know, on the second day of the year 2000 that God desires that there be men and women who will, not with their lips, but with their hearts, say: "No matter what happens in the world during the next ten years, no matter what happens in this community, or in my life, I am going to strive to be faithful to Jesus Christ. By God's grace and through the power of His Spirit, I am going to love, obey, worship and serve the Lord Jesus for the next decade, if He chooses to give me that time." In fact, I would encourage you to make those words a resolution for the new decade. May the Lord help each of us to be willing to say and do that. Amen!
------------------------------------------------------
Go to www.life.1stbaptist.org/sermons.htm for Pastor Dan's full text Bible based sermon site
