WEBVTT 00:00:00.740 --> 00:00:08.040 Well, 2020 has been quite a year. I think most of us are probably feeling pretty disoriented still as we come into the fall. 00:00:08.620 --> 00:00:13.019 And I think most churches feel pretty disoriented right now. 00:00:13.339 --> 00:00:18.000 We have not been able to meet in person since March, and it's now September. 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:24.199 And I think many churches, including ours, feel like we've been more or less just in survival mode. 00:00:25.019 --> 00:00:28.219 But the truth is that God has put us here for a reason. 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:33.700 And I think as we look around in our society and we see all the things that are going on right now, 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:37.539 now more than ever, our society needs the church to be the church. 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:44.560 And so now is a very good time for us to take some time to remember why we are here, 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:50.460 to remember our mission and our vision, who we are and why we're here in D.C. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:55.140 and what we hope to see as a result of our long-term presence in this city. 00:00:55.140 --> 00:01:02.399 And as we look at Church of the Advent, our life basically revolves around three core activities. 00:01:02.939 --> 00:01:05.299 Worship, discipleship, and mission. 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:10.700 Praising God's name, being God's people, and living for God's purposes. 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:15.120 That really comprises all that we do in the life of our church. 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:20.900 And by doing those things, worship, discipleship, and mission, by doing those things, 00:01:21.100 --> 00:01:26.520 our aim as a church is to seek the renewal of Washington, D.C. 00:01:26.520 --> 00:01:30.920 And because we live in Washington, D.C., and this is a global crossroads, 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:36.380 our aim is to see renewal not only in this city, but through this city to the whole world. 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:41.459 And when we talk about renewal, we're talking about things like personal renewal, 00:01:41.679 --> 00:01:48.699 or spiritual renewal, or social renewal, or as our focus will be this morning, cultural renewal. 00:01:50.539 --> 00:01:57.259 Today, we're going to sort of do an introduction to a series that we're going to be doing for the next few weeks, 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.259 looking specifically at cultural renewal. 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:05.819 What hope does the gospel bring to our culture and cultures around the world? 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:08.780 And I think that this is going to be particularly relevant. 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:14.699 I hope that you will find this particularly relevant for the challenges that we're facing right now in our society. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:21.079 So this morning, we're just going to ask three broad questions to introduce this series. 00:02:21.299 --> 00:02:23.240 We're going to ask, why does culture matter? 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:25.840 What is wrong with our culture? 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:27.639 And then what can we do about it? 00:02:27.859 --> 00:02:28.319 Let's pray. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:31.340 Lord, we thank you for your word, 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:36.060 and we thank you for calling us to be your church in this place. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:37.520 We know you love this city. 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:39.060 We know you love us. 00:02:39.219 --> 00:02:47.259 And we know that it's your great delight and our great honor that you choose to work through your people. 00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:53.259 And we desire nothing more than to be used by you to fulfill your purposes here. 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:57.199 And so we pray that you would use your word to clarify what that looks like for us. 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:01.519 And we pray that not only for our good, but for the good of this city and for your glory. 00:03:01.979 --> 00:03:03.459 In your son's name, amen. 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:07.039 So first of all, why does culture matter? 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:13.599 When we talk about culture, what we're talking about is basically everything that makes up our day-to-day lives. 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:21.500 So our beliefs, our values, our customs, our language, our behavior, our intellectual achievements, 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:28.759 our art, our institutions, various religions, basically our entire way of life. 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:34.000 And culture is not just a secondary byproduct of human life. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:38.159 It's not just a kind of side effect of humans living in the world. 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:43.020 Rather, if we look at scripture, we recognize that culture and the creation of culture 00:03:43.020 --> 00:03:46.819 is actually one of the main reasons that God put us here to begin with. 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:52.900 If you look at Genesis chapter 1, very first page of the Bible, verses 27 to 29, 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.699 we see what theologians refer to as the cultural mandate. 00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:00.639 And God here creates human beings. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:06.219 He creates them male and female, and He creates them to be His image bearers. 00:04:06.359 --> 00:04:10.619 Unlike any other creature in creation, human beings bear God's image. 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:12.739 They resemble God in His world. 00:04:13.239 --> 00:04:15.019 And then He gives them a specific job. 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:16.199 In verse 28, it says, 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:18.259 And God blessed them, and God said to them, 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:21.979 Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.039 and exercise dominion over it. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:29.120 Now, we hear these words like subdue and dominion, and we think conquest. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.400 But in this context, that's not what it means at all. 00:04:32.520 --> 00:04:37.900 Essentially, these words mean that human beings are called to care for God's world 00:04:37.900 --> 00:04:40.980 the way God would care for His world. 00:04:41.320 --> 00:04:44.439 So God has created a world that is full of possibilities. 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:47.860 It's full of unrealized potential. 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:49.360 But it's incomplete. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:53.460 It needs someone to bring it to its full potential. 00:04:53.900 --> 00:04:58.420 And so God created human beings to take the raw material of creation 00:04:58.420 --> 00:05:02.379 and to help creation achieve its full potential. 00:05:02.780 --> 00:05:04.280 So let me give you some examples. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:06.480 The world is full of grain. 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:07.980 The world has grain in it. 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:13.400 But it takes human beings to turn that grain into bread or beer. 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:16.460 The world has sound in it. 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:22.519 But human beings cultivate that sound, and it becomes language or music. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:27.299 The world has underlying processes that make things work. 00:05:27.859 --> 00:05:33.039 And human beings develop ways of discovering what those processes are. 00:05:33.159 --> 00:05:34.659 And so we have science. 00:05:35.299 --> 00:05:39.379 The world is full of information, but it's disorganized information. 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:45.039 And so it takes human beings to organize that information into a scope and sequence. 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:47.560 And therefore we have education. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:50.240 The world is full of experiences. 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:57.200 But it takes human beings to arrange those experiences into narratives and systems of meaning. 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:01.259 And so we have philosophy and even various religions of the world. 00:06:01.660 --> 00:06:04.720 The world has many problems that need solving. 00:06:04.900 --> 00:06:11.700 And so human beings organize ourselves so that we can best solve those problems. 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:14.240 That's essentially what we have in politics. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:23.500 The world has many natural resources, but it takes human beings to harness those resources to produce energy and medicine and technology. 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:31.420 So right away on the first page of the Bible, we see that God never intended his people to stay in the Garden of Eden. 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.079 He never intended human beings to stay there. 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:49.800 He always intended for people to spread out across the earth and to become sub-creators in his image, taking the raw material of this world and cultivating it so that it reaches its full potential. 00:06:49.979 --> 00:06:51.759 That's why God put us here. 00:06:52.860 --> 00:06:56.899 But as you know, something went terribly wrong. 00:06:56.899 --> 00:07:02.359 Best case scenario, what I just described, that's what culture creation looks like. 00:07:02.359 --> 00:07:09.319 But as we look at our culture or other cultures around the world, we recognize that that is not our daily lived experience. 00:07:09.599 --> 00:07:12.579 We are currently facing an economic crisis. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:16.599 We have a pandemic that is still ravaging the world. 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:27.820 We are facing a presidential election, and so many people are so wrapped up in their political identity that this election may very well tear our country apart, regardless of the outcome. 00:07:28.200 --> 00:07:32.660 We have people rioting in the streets over racial trauma and injustice. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:39.060 In some places around the world, the abortion rate is actually higher than the birth rate. 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:49.259 Human trafficking is a $150 billion global industry that exists for the sole purpose of exploiting people for profit. 00:07:50.220 --> 00:07:52.340 Something has gone terribly wrong. 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:57.120 So the next question we ask is, what is wrong with culture? 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:59.180 What is wrong with our culture? 00:07:59.340 --> 00:08:00.279 What is the problem? 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:06.000 If you look at Romans 1, verses 21 through 23, Paul says this, 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:32.840 So here's the problem in a nutshell. 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:39.840 Instead of living for God's glory, instead of creating culture that reflects God's glory, 00:08:39.980 --> 00:08:45.200 instead of building our society around the central person of God himself, 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.100 humans decided that they wanted to be like God. 00:08:49.280 --> 00:08:52.080 They wanted to live for their own glory. 00:08:52.220 --> 00:09:00.519 They wanted to exchange the worship of God for the worship of themselves and other things that God made in the world. 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:03.659 And this is essentially what we call idolatry. 00:09:04.059 --> 00:09:06.899 It's worshiping other things as though they were God. 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:12.220 Taking anything, and we can do this with almost anything, and often we do it with good things, 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:15.579 and we allow those good things to become ultimate things. 00:09:15.699 --> 00:09:18.840 Paul says this is the core problem in the world. 00:09:19.199 --> 00:09:25.039 And as a result, we now contend with three realities that have traditionally in the church 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:29.360 been referred to as the flesh, the world, and the devil. 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:31.639 So let me just break those down really quickly. 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:33.299 First of all, the flesh. 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:35.759 By that, I don't just mean our skin and bones. 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:41.159 It's a biblical term that means our fallen, sinful nature. 00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:44.679 So Paul says that our thinking has become futile. 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:47.839 And he says our hearts have become darkened. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:55.540 In other words, we no longer have the capacity to be what God created us to be on our own. 00:09:55.700 --> 00:10:02.280 We bear God's image still, and every human being bears God's image, but that image is marred. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:03.420 It's blurred. 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:05.780 It's like a cracked mirror. 00:10:06.580 --> 00:10:10.340 Our hearts no longer naturally love God. 00:10:10.340 --> 00:10:15.580 The best way to know whether or not this is true in your own heart is how are you naturally predisposed 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:18.200 to feel toward God and his law. 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:25.759 And no human being has a heart that is naturally inclined to love God and to desire to do his will. 00:10:26.060 --> 00:10:31.240 What we are most naturally inclined to do is to love ourselves and to do our own will. 00:10:31.680 --> 00:10:37.019 And so we're most naturally inclined to reject God and to worship other things, 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:38.680 to worship anything other than God. 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:44.199 And that often looks like sex or money or power or success or influence or approval 00:10:44.199 --> 00:10:46.819 or any of the other things that we can worship. 00:10:47.099 --> 00:10:56.019 Some of us, it's just comfort or non-confrontation or family or our kids or our political party, our country. 00:10:56.239 --> 00:10:57.699 It could be any of those things. 00:10:58.539 --> 00:11:03.839 So that's the flesh, this futility and darkness in the heart and mind. 00:11:04.339 --> 00:11:07.639 But then we also have to contend with the world. 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:09.340 So let me ask you this. 00:11:10.379 --> 00:11:20.019 What happens when human beings who are by design culture makers reject God and fall into futility and darkness? 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:31.240 Well, what happens is that everything that we create from that point on is tainted by that futility and that darkness. 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:34.980 It gets woven into everything that we build. 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:43.480 And so Christians not only have a category for individual sin, but we also have a category for systemic sin. 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:49.399 We recognize that because we are futile and dark in our hearts and minds, 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:53.819 that whatever we make, whatever we build, whatever systems we institute, 00:11:53.819 --> 00:12:00.799 even if we do it with the best of intentions, sin is hardwired in. 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:03.539 Futility and darkness are hardwired in. 00:12:03.939 --> 00:12:12.480 So no matter what political or economic system we devise, some people will inevitably benefit more than others. 00:12:12.699 --> 00:12:14.799 Some people will learn how to game the system. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.479 Other people will be marginalized by that system. 00:12:17.479 --> 00:12:24.819 No matter how much education or technology we have, we will never escape the corruption of sin. 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:28.699 So that's the world, the flesh, the world. 00:12:28.839 --> 00:12:30.620 And then thirdly, the devil. 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:34.740 And this often gets left off the list, even in a lot of churches. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.720 As Paul says in places like Ephesians 6, verse 12, 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:44.700 we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:50.799 against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil. 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:55.719 What he's saying is the brokenness in this world, the brokenness in society, 00:12:55.719 --> 00:13:02.659 is not just psychological or political or economic or social. 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:09.299 Those problems are real, but what he's saying is there is a spiritual evil behind these things. 00:13:09.599 --> 00:13:12.939 There's a malevolent spiritual being that hates God. 00:13:13.179 --> 00:13:19.199 But because it has no chance of defeating God, it goes after that which God most loves, 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:22.700 that which resembles God in creation. 00:13:22.920 --> 00:13:25.580 In other words, he goes after human beings. 00:13:26.140 --> 00:13:28.800 And this is very important to understand. 00:13:29.400 --> 00:13:32.320 And I think especially for a congregation like ours, 00:13:32.420 --> 00:13:39.440 we need to recognize that we are contending against the flesh, our own sinful desires, 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:43.480 the world's systemic brokenness, and then the devil, 00:13:43.640 --> 00:13:46.900 this spiritual evil that exists behind these things. 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:55.179 This is one of the things that makes Christian activism distinct and unique from secular progressive activism. 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:59.919 It's easy to think when we want to see something like justice done in our society 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:04.980 that we should all just, what really matters is the outcome, 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:10.419 and what really matters is, and certainly there's a place to work together and to serve together 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:13.259 and to find common ground and common causes, absolutely. 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:17.439 But one of the things that Christians need to remember is there's a vast difference 00:14:17.439 --> 00:14:24.379 between our view of human nature in society and the view that somebody might take who's not a follower of Jesus. 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:30.840 One of the biggest blind spots of secular progressive activism is the denial of sin and evil. 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.139 This is a view that theologians call Pelagianism. 00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:43.899 And so the secular progressive belief is that they believe in the kind of perfectibility of people and society, 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:48.620 and they strive toward that utopian ideal, and they believe that it's actually achievable. 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:53.519 Where Christians would differ, and even if we're working together and serving together, 00:14:53.819 --> 00:14:57.139 where we would differ is while we strive for justice, 00:14:57.259 --> 00:15:00.500 while we seek to alleviate suffering wherever we find it, 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:05.320 we also know that we can never achieve these things on our own. 00:15:05.419 --> 00:15:09.500 So we have a more realistic understanding of our own limitations, 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:14.539 of the limitations that human beings labor under. 00:15:16.019 --> 00:15:20.740 In other words, we know that our ultimate hope has to be found outside of us. 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:27.559 Human beings on our own do not have what it takes to completely fix and restore this world, 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:30.000 and remembering that is incredibly important. 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:33.440 We know that our true hope rests outside of us. 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:36.279 So that brings us to the third point. 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:38.039 So we talked about why culture matters. 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:39.460 We're here to create culture. 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:40.559 What's wrong with culture? 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:41.940 Human beings rebelled. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:45.100 And as a result, our cultures reflect our idolatry, 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:47.120 rather than the glory of the Lord. 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:49.519 And so what can we do about all of this? 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.200 Well, we know we need help from outside of ourselves. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:57.379 Human beings are not capable of solving our deepest problems on our own. 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:01.840 And this is exactly why God sent Jesus Christ into the world. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:04.240 Why do we need Jesus? 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:08.940 Paul says in Colossians 1, beginning in verse 15, 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:14.200 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:19.779 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. 00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:23.580 Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:27.720 all things were created through Him and for Him. 00:16:28.400 --> 00:16:30.180 And He is before all things. 00:16:30.540 --> 00:16:32.259 And in Him all things hold together. 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.460 And He is the head of the body, the church. 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:38.500 He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 00:16:38.780 --> 00:16:41.320 that in everything He might be preeminent. 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.840 For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:49.879 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:51.840 whether on earth or in heaven, 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:54.240 making peace by the blood of His cross. 00:16:56.060 --> 00:16:57.580 In the words of Paul Marshall, 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:00.860 everything was made by and for Jesus Christ. 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:04.740 Everything holds together in Jesus Christ. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.579 Everything will be reconciled by Jesus Christ. 00:17:08.900 --> 00:17:10.740 Jesus Christ is the key. 00:17:10.740 --> 00:17:14.380 So what this tells us is that Jesus is the one 00:17:14.380 --> 00:17:19.640 who will ultimately reconcile all things in the universe to Himself. 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:24.099 And He does this through His death and resurrection. 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:30.620 On the cross, Jesus became the vicarious sacrifice for our sin 00:17:30.620 --> 00:17:32.339 in order to set us free. 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:34.539 And then through His death and resurrection, 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:39.480 Jesus was victorious over sin, over death, 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:43.039 over the powers and the principalities 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:45.380 that Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter 6. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.000 Jesus sets us free from their hold. 00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:53.200 And so then we ask, well, what does this mean for us as human beings? 00:17:54.579 --> 00:17:57.980 Well, Jesus gives His disciples the Great Commission. 00:17:58.839 --> 00:18:00.740 He says, now that I have died for sin, 00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:01.880 now that I have rose, 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:04.700 even as I am ascending to the throne of heaven, 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:07.819 you have a job to do in this world. 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:12.599 And He sends them out to go and to make disciples of all the nations, 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:17.700 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:21.500 And we see when we look at our baptismal liturgy 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:23.339 that when we are baptized, 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:29.779 our liturgy says that we renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil. 00:18:29.879 --> 00:18:31.079 And what this is saying is, 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:36.179 I'm renouncing that entire way of life that was lived in rebellion to God, 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:42.279 and I'm embracing an entirely new way of being human in the world. 00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:48.700 A recovery of what human beings were put here to be before we fell. 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:52.900 But then we need to recognize that it doesn't just end there. 00:18:53.060 --> 00:18:55.360 It's not just about getting saved. 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:58.380 We have to ask, what is my salvation for? 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:00.279 It's not just about joining the church. 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:03.139 We have to ask, what is the church for? 00:19:03.379 --> 00:19:09.099 What are we called to do now that we have come to gain a new identity in Jesus Christ? 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:12.779 The last part of the Great Commission says, 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:14.619 then, after we baptize people, 00:19:14.859 --> 00:19:18.799 teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:25.220 An entirely new way of living that touches every aspect of our lives. 00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:27.519 The way we use technology, 00:19:27.740 --> 00:19:29.400 the way we think about justice, 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:31.519 the way we raise our children, 00:19:31.700 --> 00:19:33.480 the way we define success, 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:37.700 the way we engage politically and think about our political leaders, 00:19:37.860 --> 00:19:39.900 the way we spend our money, 00:19:40.059 --> 00:19:43.079 the way we balance work and rest, 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:46.880 the way we care for creation and our motivation for that. 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:48.779 It touches every corner of life. 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:52.059 Don't you see what's happening here? 00:19:52.059 --> 00:19:56.379 Jesus is reconciling everything to himself. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:00.659 Everything in the universe is aligning with Jesus 00:20:00.659 --> 00:20:03.619 in his death and resurrection and ascension. 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:05.720 And that includes culture. 00:20:05.919 --> 00:20:07.240 It includes our culture. 00:20:07.399 --> 00:20:09.220 It includes all cultures. 00:20:09.419 --> 00:20:12.480 Jesus is reconciling all things to himself. 00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:17.579 And so disciples are called not only to fulfill the Great Commission, 00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:21.939 but to take up the cultural mandate once again. 00:20:22.119 --> 00:20:26.980 Take up your role as human beings who were put here to create culture, 00:20:27.199 --> 00:20:32.919 to help cultivate this world and help it to reach its full potential. 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:37.720 And so as we follow Jesus, we're building a new culture. 00:20:38.159 --> 00:20:43.199 Part of how we exercise dominion is simply by preaching the gospel 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:47.819 and inviting people to come and to become part of the kingdom that Jesus is building. 00:20:48.100 --> 00:20:50.740 But then the kingdom work extends beyond that. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:52.960 It's about building an entirely new culture, 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:55.860 a kingdom culture in the world. 00:20:57.180 --> 00:21:00.779 In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus says the kingdom is like leaven 00:21:00.779 --> 00:21:03.220 that a woman puts in a measure of flour, 00:21:03.360 --> 00:21:06.279 and the leaven eventually leavens all of the flour. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:09.819 Another image that you might use that would be a little more current 00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:12.579 would be the image of tea, and you have hot water, 00:21:12.659 --> 00:21:14.379 and you put the tea leaves into the water. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.720 And over time, those tea leaves infuse all of that water 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:22.240 with a beautiful aroma and flavor and color. 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:25.500 And that's what Jesus says the kingdom of God is like. 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:29.919 And this is a picture of how Christians are meant to be in the world. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:34.579 We're meant to go out and infuse every corner of creation 00:21:34.579 --> 00:21:38.319 with the presence and the power of Jesus Christ. 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:43.519 And because we follow Jesus, our lives look different. 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:46.299 We're salty in the world. 00:21:46.439 --> 00:21:47.639 We're light in the world. 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:51.159 And in a few weeks, we're going to talk about that image in much more detail. 00:21:51.539 --> 00:21:52.939 But because we follow Jesus, 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:56.339 the way we think about things like sex or money or power 00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:59.000 is radically different from the surrounding culture. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:03.019 The way we treat our neighbors and coworkers is radically different. 00:22:03.099 --> 00:22:04.220 It's countercultural. 00:22:04.220 --> 00:22:11.100 The way we're able to get involved in politics without demonizing our opponents, 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:13.960 without our entire identity being taken up by that. 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:15.299 It's counterculture. 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:16.559 It looks radically different. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:23.259 Our willingness to exercise forbearance and to extend grace and to forgive 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:26.819 rather than stoking the outrage culture. 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:32.299 These are things that make Christians distinct or rather should make Christians distinct. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:36.419 And so in all of these ways, as we go out into the world, into every sphere of culture, 00:22:36.939 --> 00:22:39.960 our lives continually provoke questions. 00:22:40.659 --> 00:22:45.619 Our lives continually provoke questions that can only be answered by the gospel. 00:22:46.899 --> 00:22:50.279 Our lives provoke questions only the gospel can answer. 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:57.539 One question that I occasionally get asked is somebody will come up to me and they say, 00:22:57.720 --> 00:22:59.599 well, here's an issue that I really care about. 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:02.379 This is an issue that really matters a lot to me. 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.539 My heart is really for this cause. 00:23:04.879 --> 00:23:06.460 What is the church doing about this issue? 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:10.000 And typically, I think what people mean by that is, 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:14.720 is there a program that you have or an initiative that I can become a part of? 00:23:15.059 --> 00:23:16.859 And I want to make it clear, you know, 00:23:16.879 --> 00:23:19.519 I think programs definitely have their place in the church. 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:22.160 And churches need certain strategic priorities. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:24.740 But you want to know what the real answer to that question is? 00:23:25.779 --> 00:23:28.039 The real answer is this, 00:23:28.599 --> 00:23:33.779 that if God has put a specific issue in our culture on your heart, 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:36.400 if God has put that issue on your heart, 00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:39.879 chances are very good that he is actually calling you 00:23:39.879 --> 00:23:44.339 to serve him specifically in that particular way. 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:46.579 And what I want to be clear on is this, 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:50.759 the main job of the church is not to create programs, right? 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:53.059 We could create a whole bunch of programs and initiatives, 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:57.500 and we could put them all out there and get all of you to sign up for all these programs, 00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:59.839 but that's not really the main job of the church. 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:03.019 The main job of the church is to form you 00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:08.379 and to equip you so that you can fulfill God's calling in your life. 00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:14.000 That's why we focus on worship and discipleship and mission, right? 00:24:14.140 --> 00:24:17.400 As we worship, we are formed as disciples. 00:24:17.600 --> 00:24:19.380 Worship forms us as disciples. 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:22.880 And as disciples, then, we go out on mission. 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:25.660 We give our lives fully to what God is doing in the world. 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:27.240 And then through that mission, 00:24:27.540 --> 00:24:31.040 more people come and become worshipers of God. 00:24:31.120 --> 00:24:34.100 And so it goes around and around and around. 00:24:34.099 --> 00:24:39.659 So our role as the church is to form one another to fulfill God's calling in our lives. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:40.899 So instead of asking, 00:24:41.219 --> 00:24:45.679 what is the church doing about this or that issue that I care about? 00:24:45.719 --> 00:24:47.740 You need to realize you are the church. 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:50.459 If you're baptized, if you're a follower of Jesus, 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:53.359 if you're a part of a church community, you are the church. 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:56.439 So the question should not be, what is the church doing? 00:24:56.459 --> 00:24:58.839 The question should be, what can I do? 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:01.000 What is God calling me to do? 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.799 Maybe God is desiring to do something in this church, 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:08.119 and he's putting it on my heart because he wants me to spearhead it or initiate it. 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:14.180 So how can I be the church in this particular area that God is calling me to serve? 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:23.539 Our vision only succeeds if the people in our community have a clear sense of what God's call is in their life. 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:26.079 And they're willing to pursue that calling. 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:31.279 And then we as the church get to support and equip and form you to do what God is calling you to do. 00:25:33.159 --> 00:25:42.460 So our aim is formation for the sake of mission so that you can go out and infuse every corner of society, 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:45.460 and we can build this kingdom culture together. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.259 So we can do this in our household. 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:51.960 We can do this on the block that we live on. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:55.559 You know, COVID means that a lot of people are working from home. 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:56.960 A lot of people are home right now. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:02.420 And if you're anything like us, you have found this to be an extraordinary opportunity to begin to get to know your neighbors 00:26:02.420 --> 00:26:04.680 because everybody's home all the time. 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:09.160 And so it's an amazing opportunity to get to know people who live right around us. 00:26:09.859 --> 00:26:11.700 You can do this through your vocation. 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:17.100 Probably for most of us, one of the main ways that we'll fulfill God's calling in our life is through our vocation. 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:20.140 So you are on the front lines. 00:26:20.840 --> 00:26:22.000 You are the missionaries. 00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:24.460 You are the ambassadors of God's kingdom. 00:26:25.580 --> 00:26:29.600 And as we think about cultural renewal, it begins with this recognition 00:26:29.600 --> 00:26:36.360 that in the power of the Holy Spirit, God can and will use you. 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:42.679 He will use you to accomplish his purposes in this world for his glory. 00:26:43.179 --> 00:26:43.819 Let's pray. 00:26:45.179 --> 00:26:52.199 Lord, we thank you for your word and we thank you for your vision of this world that is dark or hopeless or full of despair, 00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:56.339 as it may seem from our perspective, that you have the long view 00:26:56.339 --> 00:26:59.939 and that you see this world as it will one day be, Lord. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.759 And I pray that you would align our hearts toward that hope. 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:09.940 Give us a vision for the ways that you're calling us to be a part of the work of renewal in this city, Lord, 00:27:09.980 --> 00:27:11.000 where we are right now. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:15.940 And I pray that you would strengthen our church and empower us with the Holy Spirit to fulfill that calling. 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:18.000 Lord, that your name might be glorified. 00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:19.619 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:20.299 Amen. 00:27:20.299 --> 00:27:20.480 Amen.