Gospel in Life # 5. Witness a city on a hill. 1 Peter 3:8-18a; Matthew 5: The mess. The future. The overlap. How is the world going to know?

Transcription

1 Gospel in Life # 5 Witness a city on a hill 1 Peter 3:8-18a; Matthew 5:13-16 The mess The future The overlap How is the world going to know? Because God s people are to be Counter-cultural Neighbour-loving Answer-giving

2 THE MESS It doesn t take much to know the world is in a mess Aust killed by teenagers, random shooting Egypt hundreds of people killed Syria weapons of mass destruction used Own lives we re not the people we want to be Mess since the fall Adam and Eve Sin reigns and everything is disintegrating. As soon as they sinned Spiritual separation from God Emotional turmoil within Social alienation from one another Physical tension from nature This is the age when everything falls apart.

3 THE FUTURE OT continually looking for a new day when all the alienations would be mended Psalm 96 even the natural order will be redeemed the trees of the forest will sing for joy when the judge of the world comes to put things right. In the world to come all the alienations will be healed. Pain banished. Tears wiped away. Everything will be renewed. THE OVERLAP Right now since Jesus came we re in what we call the overlap of the ages. Jesus coming brought the future kingdom in this world in part So we experience now through the gospel an end to the separation between us and God (but we still stuff

4 up)... between Christians we experience in part an end to social alienation... and we experience in part an end to the tension between us and nature. So we are in the overlap of the ages. We experience in part now what we will one day know in completeness. And we have a longing don t we for that day to come when the alienations will be gone dealt with reversed completely. When he returns, the present age will come to an end and the future age will come fully. But here s the challenge... We live in a world that doesn t even know what it s missing! We live in a world that doesn t see the problem. We live in a world that cannot imagine a future like the one we look forward to!!

5 So how do we communicate this? How do we hold a picture up to them? How do we stir their imaginations to what will be? How do we wake them up to better things? Jesus says to his followers in Matthew 5:14 you are the light of the world you re a city on a hill!! That is - We re to be an alternate city living in such a way as people see the glory of the heavenly city One day God will bring everything under the lordship of Christ and the church is to at least partially, show what that age to come under Christ will look like. So what does a city on a hill look like? First - IT S COUNTER-CULTURAL 1 Peter 3:8-9

6 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. This is from a letter to people facing persecution. See 1 Peter 1:6 - though you now go through trials... And he has already given the example of Jesus who suffered for doing what is right. How do we live in the midst of a hostile world? Our world increasingly hostile toward Christians Another trial SU Chaplains Scripture in schools so dangerous! New atheists slamming Christians Professor Krauss last week in debate dismissed Christian scholar of some note William Lane Craig as a liar! In your own lives people more critical often dismissive when they discover you re a Christian - more so than ever before.

7 How do we live in the midst of this? Harmony like minded humility agreed on the essentials the gospel... submit ourselves to others... Contrast the world on this always ready to argue Sympathetic readiness to rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn. Reaches out to others, instead of keeping to oneself and looking after No. 1. Love as brothers not just mateship but knowledge that we are connected in Christ... Compassionate as God in Christ has shown compassion to us inner organs mercy... gutwrenching compassion... Gospels Jesus compassion on the crowds... we model that, reflect... Humble humility was unknown in the 1 st century a sign of great weakness putting others first... Jesus modelled this entering our world and going to the cross... and we are to be marked by it...

8 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult politicians are busy doing... but we are to do the opposite blessing. Egyptian Christians church burnt down take those who did it a meal...! Radical!!!! Blessing is our DNA as recipients of blessing! Can you see how counter-cultural this is!! This will be second nature in the kingdom to come We re to exhibit it now as a sign of that coming kingdom So do we as a community stand out from the world around us? Is every part of our communal life transformed by the gospel? For example in the world, people put each other down all the time; very critical of others; often gossiping about others...is the Christian community behaving in exactly the same way or have we been transformed by the gospel? One other example. In the world, people often have to show how important they are or were... And so they

9 like to command the floor and boss others around, or tell stories about how much money they made or power they had... Is that what it's like here; or has the gospel radically transformed us so we're so secure in who we are in Christ, that we're not interested in promoting self at all... Only in encouraging others in Jesus? We re to stand out Shock Surprise Delight... Attract...Noosa with behaviour of this kind... Anything here you need to consider? Any area here you are being called upon to change this very morning???

10 There s a credibility that comes if you re consistent in your behaviour. There s a credibility that comes when people see the gospel transforming you. You say you re a Christian? You say you believe the gospel? But has the gospel made you kinder? Does it lead you to treat people better? Does it lead you to face trouble without despair? Does it lead you to face death with confidence? What is your life saying to others about what you believe? If you re not living a very attractive life because your living an inconsistent life because you re a grumpy person or because you re an unbelievably frightened person or you re an extremely undisciplined person... what does that say to others about what you believe? SECOND - IT S NEIGHBOUR LOVING I don t need to spend a lot of time here because we ve already seen this from a few angles in this series

11 already see Matthew 5:13-16 and 1 Peter 2:9-12 for example. Two commandments Jesus said sum up the law Love God heart, soul, strength, mind + love neighbour as yourself. Jesus was asked who is my neighbour... recall answer? Parable Good Samaritan. Samaritans broken away from Jews Weren t looked on favourably. A man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho beaten up by robbers and left to die A priest and another religious guy passed by on the other side of the road... didn t want to know... But a Samaritan - stopped and helped him out, treated his wounds and put him up in a hotel. Jesus said which of these was a neighbour to the beaten-up guy? Answer the one you d least expect. And Jesus said go and do likewise.

12 Go and be a neighbour so surprise someone with your help do what is radical what no one else wants to do get your hands dirty in being a neighbour It may be inconvenient It may be dangerous It may be costly But so was Jesus' death on the cross for you! And we live to demonstrate that grace. We re a city on a hill We re meant to advertise the brilliant nature of the world to come And loving neighbours... is a wonderful and necessary part of that.

13 Third a city on a hill is ANSWER GIVING 1 Peter 3:15 always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. An alternate city is an answer-giving city Context Peter s readers persecution suffering for doing good yet because they set aside Jesus as Lord (not Caesar as Lord - the catch cry of the day) they remained people of hope. Inevitable people would ask how come? When our lives are radically different radically counter cultural hope in disaster, strength in sickness, generosity even to those who don t like us; neighbourly help to those in need; not gossips; not sleeping around; not gripped by money; not people who trade insults; not people to have too much to drink......inevitably people will ask why we re different. Sometimes we want hide Jesus.

14 We talk about many things that are important to us but we don t naturally talk about Jesus. But to be a city on a hill we have to be a people who talk naturally about Jesus to family and friends and people in work places. How will we do that? If someone asks you to give the reason you re a Christian or the reason for the hope you have or if someone asked you why you believe in the age to come would you be able to answer sympathetically? yet convincingly? Lovingly yet faithfully? With gentleness and respect? Be prepared means you should have a suite of answers up your sleeve... But friends - as I close don t lose the focus here Last week community is the wonderful context for knowing God

15 deep change winning the world This is a picture of who we are together! Our community is to demonstrate an alternative to the world s way of living......the gospel should change and modify and effect everything about us so that when we get together... as a community we rethink the implications of the gospel on every single aspect of our lives. You see the city on the hill when Jesus speaks about that he speaks of a way to model an alternate kind of human society in every way. Business. Sexuality. Race relations. Art. Conflict resolution.

16 Everything. So if we want to really help people get a glimpse of the age to come, we need 1. Counter-cultural 2. Neighbour-loving 3. answer-giving...communities everywhere... In every neighbourhood, nook and cranny. And that s the reason, by the way, that church planting the planting of new communities, is so important. Could you encourage your church in planting? Could you be part of a new church plant financially and personally? Here s the bottom line Jesus command to be a light to the world is a communal command. When he says you re are a city, it s not something individual Christians can do on their own.

17 So in our time between the present age and the age to come we need to be a city on a hill together! Counter-cultural Neighbour-loving Answer-giving.