You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace.
Join us.
Amen.
We're delighted to have Brian and Jill Fickert with us this weekend.
Thank you all for joining us.
And we learned last night within the first 30 seconds of Dr. Fickert's message that he
is both taller and funnier than our normal pastor.
And that hurt my feelings a little bit.
I thought one was less obvious than the other.
But we're delighted that he's back from Chattanooga, where he is a professor at Covenant College,
the founder and director of the Chalmers Center there.
And he loves God's church and God's word as we do.
And so he's coming to open God's word for us this morning, and we're eager to hear from
him.
Thank you, Dr. Fickert, for being here.
Thank you, brother.
Thank you.
Well, good morning.
I bring your greetings from Covenant College, which is the college of this denomination,
the Presbyterian Church in America.
I'm a professor there.
I'm also the founder and president of something called the Chalmers Center.
We are a church-equipping organization.
We seek to equip the church to minister in words and in deeds to people who are poor, both
in the United States and around the world.
And it's just a joy to be with you folks today.
I am a professor, so I have to start off with a quiz for you.
You do have the outline, I believe, of my talk in your bulletin.
And there's two opening questions.
I would really like you to write down your answers to these two questions very briefly.
The first is this.
Why did Jesus come to earth?
Why did Jesus...
These are easy ones.
Why did Jesus come to earth?
And secondly, what is the gospel?
Why did Jesus come to earth?
And what is the gospel?
Why did Jesus come to earth?
And what is the gospel?
As you're finishing that up, let me just give a little bit of introduction before we look
at today's reading.
As we think about pursuing the Great Commission in the 21st century, whether at home or abroad,
we are immediately confronted with the issue of poverty.
You see, the center of Christianity has shifted from the West to the majority world of Africa,
Asia, and Latin America.
And within those continents, the gospel is growing and spreading most rapidly amongst
the poorest people in those places.
As historian Philip Jenkins has noted, the typical Christian in the 21st century is not
an American business person attending a megachurch in a U.S. suburb.
Rather, the typical Christian in the 21st century is a poor woman living in a slum in Sao Paulo,
Brazil, or a poor woman living in a village in rural Nigeria.
And closer to home, we are confronted with poverty right outside our doors.
A recent study has suggested that the poverty rate in Huntsville is about 18%, but there are
actually some neighborhoods just outside of the city center where the poverty rate is actually
as high as 66%.
Huntsville is the 14th, sorry, Madison County is the 14th worst county in the country in terms
of upward mobility.
In other words, if one does the things that one does to pursue the American dream, get an
education, try to find work, your capacity for achieving the goal of the American dream
in Madison County is the 14th worst in the country.
Now, coexisting with these poor people, both at home and abroad, are the rest of us who
are amongst the richest people ever to walk the face of planet Earth.
Now, how should the Church of Jesus Christ respond to these disparities as we try to pursue
the Great Commission?
What should we do?
Well, I don't believe that we can get a comprehensive answer to that question from today's passage,
but I do believe that today's passage, when interpreted in light of all of Scripture, does
shed some light for us on how we should pursue the Great Commission in the face of poverty at
home and abroad.
The passage we're about to read describes Paul and Barnabas, who are really the first missionaries,
as they seek to bring the gospel into the town of Lystra, which is essentially, it's Gentile
territory, they're essentially bringing the gospel to an unreached people group.
So Acts chapter 14, verses 8 through 20, Acts chapter 14, verses 8 through 20 is our reading
today.
Again, Paul and Barnabas pursuing the Great Commission, bringing the gospel to an unreached
unreached people group.
It says this, in Lystra there sat a man who was lame.
He had been that way from birth and had never walked.
He listened to Paul as he was speaking.
Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed, and called out, stand up
on your feet.
At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in Lyconian language, the gods have come
down to us in human form.
Barnabas they called Zeus, Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city
gates, because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes.
They rushed into the crowd shouting, friends, why are you doing this?
We too are only human like you.
We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the
living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
Yet he has not left himself without testimony.
He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons.
He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.
Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over.
They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking that he was dead.
But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up, went back into the city.
The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
This is the word of the Lord.
Let us just ask the Lord's blessing on us this morning.
Almighty God, these are not just words on a page.
These are your words to your people.
Words of life, words of truth, words that are meant for wholeness,
words that are meant to call us unto yourself, to bring us into your presence,
words that are meant to make us flourish.
We pray that you be with us today.
Help us to hear what you are saying to us in your word.
Holy Spirit, we ask that you would show up,
that you would bring the transformation that all of us need to our hearts
and our minds and our bodies and our actions.
We pray that you would do something with us today.
Through your word, in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
As Paul and Barnabas bring the gospel to this unreached people group,
the first thing that they do is they encounter this man who's crippled,
crippled from birth.
And commentators are agreed that almost certainly this man would have been a beggar.
He would have been unable to work due to the fact that he was lame.
And so he's the kind of person who would have sat there in the marketplace
with his hands outstretched,
hoping that somebody would put food into his hands so that he could survive.
Now what do the first missionaries do when they encounter this crippled man,
this man who is poor, this beggar, if you will?
Well, the first thing we notice is that they heal him.
They restore him so that he's able to function again.
He would have been able to work again.
Now why do they do this?
Why would missionaries heal a crippled man?
Isn't the task of the church solely to preach?
Isn't it the case that addressing the man's physical needs
will divert the church and its missionaries from their task of fulfilling the Great Commission?
I would submit to you that the answer to this question is no.
I would submit to you the answer to those questions are no.
And the reason has to do with the two questions I asked you at the start of this talk.
Why did Jesus come to earth?
And what is the gospel?
And in order to understand the answers to those questions,
we have to back up way back, way back to the very, very beginning
and understand this passage in light of all of God's grand story.
You see, the story begins in the garden, right?
God creates a good world, and in the beginning, he calls it all good,
and he appoints human beings to be in charge of his creation.
And he makes these human beings in his image.
And because he is a creator, they reflect his image when they engage in creative activity.
In other words, work is part of what it means to be human.
We are wired for work.
Work is not just a necessary evil.
Work is part of how we fulfill our calling as image bearers.
And God sets it up in the garden in such a way that as a result of our work,
we'll be able to eat.
We'll be able to sustain ourselves through our work.
Now, of course, what happens is the fall, right?
The fall happens, and Adam and Eve sinned against God.
One of the very first things that we see happening is that work is cursed.
Adam is told thorns will infest the ground.
It won't bear fruit the way that it was supposed to.
Eve is told there will be pains and childbearing.
One of the root causes of poverty is that moment.
That moment of the fall, work is undermined.
And a loss of sustaining work is at the essence of poverty.
But right there in the garden, God promises to send a savior.
He promises to Eve that through her offspring,
one will come who will crush the serpent's head.
And as the Old Testament unfolds, we learn more and more of what this promise means.
Abraham is told that through his seed, all people on earth will be blessed.
And then the scriptures unfold a little bit more.
We get to the book of Isaiah.
And we find out in Isaiah that this one who is promised,
the one who is coming,
will be a king who will usher in a kingdom.
Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 through 7,
a passage we often read at Christmas.
Talking about this coming king,
talking about his coming kingdom,
we read this.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given.
And the government will be on his shoulders,
and he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
That word peace is very important in this passage.
Of the greatness of his government and of peace,
there will be no end.
Note that this kingdom will expand over the whole earth,
bringing justice and righteousness and peace
as far as the curse is found.
Now folks, this word peace
doesn't just mean the absence of war.
It's actually in Hebrew the word shalom.
It means comprehensive happiness,
completeness, health, prosperity,
restoration of all things
to the way they are supposed to be.
It's what we're all longing for.
And as Isaiah unfolds,
we read that in particular,
he will bring this peace,
this shalom to the poor.
Isaiah chapter 61, verses 1 and 2,
a passage that foretells
the coming of this king and his kingdom.
We read this,
the spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives,
and release from darkness for the prisoners.
To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
The year of the Lord's favor
is referring to the year of Jubilee.
Every 50 years in Old Testament Israel,
land was to be restored
to the original landowners.
Debts were to be forgiven.
There was a moment of restoration
for all in the land,
including the poor.
Once again, the poor people would be restored
to what we are made to be.
People who can work
and support ourselves through that work.
Look, the kingdom is introduced
in economic terms.
I'm an economist.
The kingdom is introduced
in economic terms.
It is a kingdom
that will restore human beings
to image-bearing people
who can work and support themselves
through their own work.
Now, I need you to move forward
to about 700 years.
700 years from the time
of the prophet of Isaiah.
Isaiah.
Jesus is about to launch
his earthly ministry.
He's just been tempted
in the desert,
and he goes to a synagogue,
and in that synagogue,
the Jews are worshiping,
and they're longing
because they knew
that there was a promised Messiah.
They knew that there was
a king who was coming,
and they were longing
for that king.
They were longing
for that kingdom,
but the Romans
were writing the show.
And hope was probably
in short supply.
And in that synagogue,
Jesus, the son of the carpenter,
stands up,
and a scroll is handed to him
from the book of Isaiah,
and he opens it
to the passage
that we just read.
In Luke chapter 4,
we read that Jesus opens up,
and he reads that passage
from Isaiah,
the one that we just read,
and he closes with this.
today,
this scripture
is fulfilled
in your hearing.
A shiver must have run
up and down the spines
of the people
in the synagogue
that day,
because what Jesus
is saying
is that promised king
and that promised kingdom
is at hand,
and he is that king.
He is the king of kings
and lord of lords.
He is the one
who's going to make
all things new.
He is the one
who's bringing healing
for the lame,
for the blind,
and for the leper.
That's who he is.
Indeed,
the good news
of the kingdom of God
was Jesus'
primary message.
We read in Luke chapter 4,
verse 43,
Jesus says,
I must proclaim
the good news
of the kingdom of God
to the other towns also,
because that is why
I was sent.
Jesus' message was
the kingdom of God.
I asked you at the start,
why did Jesus come to earth,
and what is the gospel?
Now, if you're like
most Christians in America,
you answer those questions
in the following way.
Why did Jesus come to earth?
He came to earth
to die on the cross
to save me from my sins.
What is the gospel?
The gospel is the good news
that if I repent of my sins
and trust in Jesus,
my soul can go to heaven
when I die.
Those are good answers.
They're true answers.
Hallelujah.
My sins are nailed to the cross
and I bear them no more.
I'm a sinner.
I need a savior.
And Jesus solves that problem for me
because I have a legal problem
before a righteous and holy God.
But folks,
when we reduce the message
of Jesus Christ and his work
to that,
it creates problems.
Because there's a fuller story,
and it's the story
of the kingdom of God,
which was Jesus' primary story.
And see,
without that story,
we end up in weird places.
Let me give you an example.
I'm a Presbyterian pastor's kid.
I grew up
in this kind of setting.
My father was an Orthodox
Presbyterian pastor.
That means that
in the space of Presbyterianism,
I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews.
The OPC are like the Hasidic Jews
of Presbyterianism.
I can out-Orthodox all of you.
And being a pastor's kid,
I was told
that whenever the church doors were open,
I had to be there.
Mom would say to me,
don't you want to set a good example
for your peers?
Well, believing that the salvation
of an entire generation
rested on my shoulders,
every time the church doors were open,
I was there.
My therapist says that
in 30 or 40 years,
I might get over all of this.
Now, I was subjected
to many, many horrible experiences,
playing your banjo
at the age of three
in front of the entire congregation,
those kinds of things.
But the lowest rung,
the worst experience
that I could have ever imagined
was singing in the junior choir
when I was 12 years old.
Because I didn't feel like
singing in the junior choir.
I had to wear this robe.
And it wasn't,
it was kind of creepy.
And to make matters worse,
my older sister
was the choir director.
But there was one thing
that made it
the worst thing possible.
I somehow believed
that for all eternity,
I was going to be singing
in the junior choir,
floating around
like a ghost on clouds
with a diaper on
and a harp in my hands.
And quite frankly,
that wasn't
a very compelling vision.
And the vision of me
floating around in clouds
with a harp
is not a very compelling vision
for you either.
It wasn't a very compelling vision.
You know,
I didn't want to go to hell,
but to be honest with you,
this only sounded
marginally better.
It's not a particularly
compelling vision.
It's a disembodied vision.
It's a ghost-like
existence vision.
It didn't give me
a reason to want to
get out of bed
on Monday morning
because my soul
was secure in heaven.
That didn't sound that great,
but it was better
than the other place.
But what was I supposed
to do on Monday morning?
It wasn't a particularly
compelling story.
And I would submit to you,
it's not a particularly
compelling story
on its own
for little children
picking garbage
out of dumps
in Manila.
It's not a particularly
compelling story
for little girls
being sold into brothels
in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
And it's not a particularly
compelling story
for little boys
and little girls
who are attending schools
in Huntsville, Alabama
that are not going to
prepare them
to live in this world.
We need a fuller story.
We need a fuller story
and the story we need
is the story of Jesus Christ.
We need the good news
of the gospel.
And the good news
of the gospel
is the good news
of the kingdom of God.
It's the good news
that Jesus Christ
is King of kings
and Lord of lords.
That he's making
all things new.
That he cares about my soul,
he cares about my body,
he cares about the city,
he cares about grass
and trees and cows,
he cares about our schools,
he cares about every square inch
of his creation,
he cared about it enough
to die for it.
That's the good news
of the gospel.
And it's the good news
that you and I
need to embrace
and it's the good news
for the low income people
in this city.
It provides real hope,
real purpose,
both for this life
and the next.
We need to rethink
our story
and we need to rethink
how we're telling
that story.
You see,
Jesus declares
the good news
of his kingdom
verbally,
but he also does it
with deeds.
Imagine how silly
it would have been
if Jesus had walked around
with his hands
in his pockets.
He saw lepers
and he saw the lame
and he saw the blind
and he said to them,
I'm king of kings
and lord of lords.
I'm using all the authority
and power that I have
in heaven and earth
to usher in a new kingdom,
a new heaven,
a new creation
where all is made whole,
where shalom abounds.
I can do it all,
but I'm not going to bother
showing you,
just trust me.
He puts his hands
in his pockets.
Who would have believed him?
His message was crazy enough
to begin with.
Who would have possibly believed
that the son of the carpenter
could do this kind of thing?
So what does Jesus do?
He preaches the kingdom
and he shows the kingdom.
He pulls his hands
out of his pockets.
He touches the lame.
He touches the blind.
He touches the leper.
He preaches the kingdom
and he shows the kingdom.
I need you to notice something.
Notice that all of Jesus' miracles
were restorative.
He didn't just show off.
He didn't just say,
hey, watch this,
and like take somebody's head
and wrap it around
and make it fly off or something.
He didn't just make the moon
run around, the sun.
He didn't just show off.
Because Jesus was trying
to communicate
a particular message.
He was trying to communicate
that the new heavens
and new earth
were dawning in him.
You see, in Jesus,
death and resurrection,
he is the start
of the new creation.
His body is the first thing
in the new creation.
He's ushering in
this place where Shalom abounds.
And in that place
where Shalom abounds,
there's restoration.
There's healing.
The poor are restored
to people who can work
and support themselves
through their work.
They're restored
to image-bearing.
They're restored
to all that it means
to be human.
What Jesus is doing
in his miracles
is giving a sneak preview
of the coming attractions.
For those of you
under the age of 30,
he was creating trailers.
When Jesus heals,
he's creating a trailer,
a sneak preview
of what it'll be like
when his kingdom comes
in its fullness.
And in that kingdom,
there is restoration.
There is healing.
There is the returning
to full image-bearing.
And Jesus continues
his mission
through his church.
Luke chapter 9,
verses 1 through 2,
it says this,
when Jesus had called
the twelve together,
he gave them power
and authority
to drive out all demons
and to cure diseases,
and he sent them out
to preach.
Look at the message.
The kingdom of God.
That's the message.
He sends out his followers
to preach the kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
Jesus preaches the kingdom of God
in words and in deeds,
and his church
is to continue his mission
by preaching the kingdom of God
in words and in deeds
through deeds of restoration.
And folks,
back to our passage in Acts,
this is what Paul
and Barnabas were doing.
They'd been sent out
by Jesus Christ
to preach the kingdom
and to show the kingdom,
and that's what Paul
and Barnabas are doing
when they encounter
the crippled man.
They heal him
because it's the commission
that God had given to them.
But the deeds
were not enough.
You see,
Paul and Barnabas
also used words
to communicate
the kingdom of God.
I would submit to you
that in this passage,
Paul and Barnabas' words
ministered to three
different groups of people.
First of all,
the words ministered
to the crippled man himself.
We read in the passage
that he had been listening
to Paul and Barnabas' preaching,
and Paul saw
they had faith
to be healed.
We know from elsewhere
in Scripture
that words are necessary
to draw people
into saving faith.
Deeds are not enough.
Romans chapter 10,
verse 17,
says this,
faith comes from
hearing the message,
and the message is heard
through the word
about Christ.
Christ.
Yes,
the kingdom is bringing
healing as far
as the curse is found,
but it is only those
who repent
of their sins
and trust in the king
who get to enter
into that kingdom
and experience
its full benefits.
We have many people today,
we have many people today
who are passionate
about social justice.
that's a good thing.
We have many people today
who are passionate
for the kingdom to come,
and that's a good thing.
But they want the king,
the kingdom,
without the king.
They want the goodies
without submitting
to King Jesus
in faith and repentance.
If you want the kingdom,
you have to bow your knee
to the king.
This shows up all the time
in poverty alleviation work.
Everybody who's ever worked
in the space
of poverty alleviation
knows a famous quote
that's been attributed
to Francis of Assisi.
Nobody actually knows
if he said it,
but it's every community
development worker's
favorite quote.
And it goes like this.
Preach the gospel.
Use words if you must.
Now what that's trying
to get at is precious,
but it's fundamentally wrong.
Because we always must.
We always must.
You cannot enter
into the kingdom
without faith in the king.
And you can't have
saving faith in the king
without the words
about who he is.
Second,
the words ministered
to the people
who were watching
the miracle.
You see, folks,
without words,
people will interpret deeds
through their own worldview,
through their own presuppositions
about how the world works.
We see this happening
in the passage.
Look at what happened.
They healed the crippled man
and immediately the people
think that Paul and Barnabas
are gods.
Now there's a reason for this.
There was a folklore
in this part of the world
that at a previous era,
the gods had come down
in human form.
And because the people
in that area
had not been very hospitable,
the gods had wiped out
all of their homes.
And so there's actually
a sense here
of franticness,
of we're being given
a second chance
to show hospitality.
And that's why this priest
is so frantic.
He said,
oh, I've only got
one job to do.
I've got to do it.
So he's running out there
with the reeds
and the bulls
to make sure
that they show hospitality
to the gods
because he doesn't want
the people's homes
to be wiped out
as they were in the past.
Now notice what Paul
and Barnabas do
in light of this.
Do they close their mouths
and say,
well, we don't want
to be offensive here
to anybody?
Do they say,
well, we're kind of
postmodern
and what's true for us
might not be true for you
and we don't want
to impose our worldview
on you?
That's not what happens.
What Paul and Barnabas do
is they're frantic.
They tear their clothes.
It's actually a symbol
of great distress.
They are very concerned
that people understand
what's actually going on here.
And look what they do.
They narrate the miracle
but then they narrate
God's working
in all of creation.
They narrate
the general functioning
of the universe
and they say,
it's God who created
the heavens,
the earth,
and the sea.
It's God who sends you rain.
It's God who makes
your crops grow.
It's God who gives you food.
It's God who gives you joy.
In essence,
what Paul and Barnabas
are doing
is they're trying
to replace
a pagan worldview
with the worldview
of the kingdom of God
that all of creation
is created,
sustained,
and being redeemed
by Jesus Christ alone.
and third,
and this might be
less obvious,
I believe the words
are actually ministering
to Paul and Barnabas
themselves.
You see,
we are always tempted.
We are always tempted
to take credit
for God's work.
Folks,
in the space
of poverty alleviation,
this is a constant
temptation
because every
non-profit ministry
has to raise money
and so there's a temptation
to jockey
and to compete
with other ministries
because we're all
on our way
to the same donors.
We're running
to the same donors.
We're bumping into each other
on the way there
and we've got to say
that we did something.
So these are my poor people.
You didn't fix them.
I fixed them.
We need to take credit
for the success
to get more money.
And then many of us
have egos.
I have one.
I want to have a sense
of meaning and purpose
in my life
that I accomplish
something.
And so the temptation
is always to take credit
for God's work
and God doesn't take
this sin lightly.
Indeed, Paul and Barnabas'
very lives
may have been at risk
at this moment.
Not just from the people
but from God Almighty.
You see, in just a few chapters earlier
in Acts chapter 12
King Herod stands up
and gives a public address
and the audience
called him a god.
And look what the Bible says.
Immediately,
because Herod did not
give praise to God
an angel of the Lord
struck him down
and he was eaten
by worms
and died.
God is the king
and he wants
the praise.
Paul and Barnabas'
very lives
and certainly
their spiritual health
were at stake.
They needed to narrate
that Jesus
is the king.
Now what does this have to do
with Southwood
Presbyterian Church?
What does this have to do
with you folks?
Four points
and they're going to go fast
if you're getting antsy.
Just hang in there.
First,
you must continue
Jesus' mission
of declaring
and demonstrating
good news
for the poor.
Folks,
the Bible says
that you are the body
and the bride
and the very fullness
of Jesus Christ.
It's in Ephesians.
This means
when the world
looks at you,
when the poor
look at you,
you're supposed
to look like Jesus,
the one who declares
and demonstrates
his kingdom.
In this light,
folks,
care for the poor,
care for this city
isn't just kind of
icing on the cake.
It's not just kind of
a nice thing to do.
It's actually central
to what it means
to be
the people of God.
Indeed,
throughout the Old
and New Testaments
we are told
that one of the primary
evidences
of saving faith
is our willingness
to care for the poor.
1 John 3,
verses 17-18.
If anyone has
material possessions,
and we do,
if anyone has
material possessions
and sees a brother
or sister in need
but has no pity on them,
how can the love
of God be in that person?
Dear children,
let us love
not with words
or speech
but with actions
and in truth.
People of God,
you are the richest
people ever
to walk the face
of the earth.
If this command
is to anybody,
it's to you.
You must act.
You must do something.
But what you do
really matters.
Good intentions
are not enough.
And that's the second point.
Our ministries
amongst the poor
must be restorative.
They have a purpose.
They're trying to give
a sneak preview
of the coming attraction
of Christ and His kingdom
when people are restored
to full image bearers.
The deeds have to match
the words,
which means that
our ministries
must restore people
to what God
has made them to be.
Image bearers
who can work
and enjoy the fruits
of their work.
That may sound obvious
to you,
but I would submit to you
that a very large number
of Christian ministries
around the world
aren't doing that.
we run in with solutions
that quite frankly
create dependencies,
that undermine dignity,
that don't restore people
as image bearers.
I have something to tell you.
It's a dirty little secret.
The Chalmers Center works
with churches
all over the world,
and the hardest places,
the hardest places
to bring
the good news
of Christ's restoration
are places
where the American church
has been a lot.
Because the American church
runs around the world
hurling around resources,
creating all kinds
of dependencies,
and so when you walk
into a community
and say,
we're here to help restore you
to image bearer,
and they're like,
why?
I can go across the street
and get goodies for free.
It's demeaning.
It undermines image bearing.
It is not the gospel
of the kingdom.
It's the gospel
of us feeling good
about ourselves
and what we're doing.
Third,
we must design
our ministries
so from top to bottom
there is a verbal narration
of who Jesus is
so that at the end of the day
people are worshiping
the King of Kings
and Lord of Lords.
that's harder
to pull off
than you might think.
You see,
when it's us
bringing in
the malaria nets,
when it's us
bringing in the food,
when it's us
bringing in all the goodies,
the temptation
for people
is to start
to put their faith
in us.
And so we've got
to design our ministries
in such a way
that we act like
Paul and Barnabas.
It's not us.
It's not about us.
It's about King Jesus
who's healing us.
He provides the malaria nets.
He provides the wells.
He provides the clean water.
He provides the sun.
He provides everything.
It's all about him.
It's not about you
and it's not about me.
It's very difficult
to do this,
especially if you take
sources of money
that don't allow you
to do it.
Christian ministries
all across this country
are taking funds
from sources
that will not allow you
to narrate
the gospel truth.
And then finally,
we must repent
of our own worldview.
You see,
it wasn't just the people
that Paul and Barnabas
were ministering to
that have a fallen worldview.
You and I
have a fallen worldview too.
You've got to listen carefully
because we've got to
end here quickly.
Western Christianity
has tended to focus
on the legal aspects
of Christ's work.
Christ dies on the cross
to save me from my sins.
My soul goes to heaven
when I die.
That's it.
And as a result,
we don't have a story
of Monday through Saturday.
He solves our sin problem
on Sunday mornings
we worship him.
We don't have a story
Monday through Saturday.
Most of us have reverted
to deism.
Most of us believe
that functionally
the world operates
like a machine.
And brothers and sisters
who I love
with all my heart,
the backgrounds
of most of the people
in this congregation
lend themselves to this.
You're scientists.
And you've been inculcated
in a worldview
that says the world
functions on its own
like a closed machine.
And Christ,
if he exists,
simply heals
our sin problems.
He has nothing to do
with Monday through Saturday.
But that's not the gospel.
The gospel is that
he's the king,
that he holds
the atoms in place,
that he makes
the chemical formulas
work the same time
over and over
and over again
because he's a covenant
keeping God.
That's him
holding the atoms
in place.
But you see,
if Jesus is in king
of Monday through Saturday,
then who is?
I would submit to you
that the issue
that most of us
are facing
in the West
is this.
we believe
that our own knowledge,
our own know-how,
our own science,
our own technology,
our own wealth
are things that we created
on our own
because we don't understand
the gospel
of the kingdom of God.
We don't understand
that it's all a gift
from him.
And you know
what happens from that?
We get really arrogant.
And when you're arrogant,
you crush poor people
because poor people
are typically suffering
from a marred identity,
a sense of inferiority,
a sense of not fully human.
And we rush in
and we take over
to fix them
and we confirm in them
what they're already feeling.
I'm less than human.
I can't do anything.
I would submit to you
that the wealthiest people
in the world
are the least capable people
of helping the poor
around the world.
The wealthiest people
in the world
are the least capable
of helping poor people
around the world.
Because poor people
don't need our stuff.
They don't need us
telling them
how smart we are.
What they need
is King Jesus.
So I would call us
to repentance this morning.
Repentance of the arrogance
and the pride
that are dripping
all over Western civilization.
But folks,
here's the thing.
We can't get over
our pride on our own.
We're helpless
to overcome our pride.
So what I'm telling you is
that the first step
in poverty alleviation
is for us
to reach out our hands
like beggars
and to say to King Jesus,
please come heal me.
Folks, in this light,
poverty alleviation
isn't so much about us
putting food
in the hands of a beggar,
although sometimes
that's helpful.
It's more like this.
It's more like
grabbing the hand
of a beggar
and saying,
I'm broken
and you're broken.
I'm hungry
and you're hungry.
Let us go feed
on King Jesus together.
Let us pray.
King Jesus,
forgive us.
Forgive us
when we think
it's all about ourselves.
Forgive me
when I think
it's all about me.
King Jesus,
you are the creator
and the sustainer
and the reconciler
of all things.
it's all about you.
We can do nothing
without you.
You tell us in your word
that apart from you
we can do
absolutely nothing.
And so Lord,
we come to you today
like beggars.
We come to you
with outstretched hands
asking you
to heal us.
Heal us
from our materialism.
Heal us
from our pride.
May we fall
at the foot
of the cross.
And we fall
at the foot
of the cross.
And may you
heal our deepest needs.
And then may you
use us
to heal others.
It's in your name
alone that we pray.
Amen.
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visit us online
at southwood.org.