Acts 14:8-20 "Rethinking Our Story"

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?

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

Acts 14:8–20 Acts 14:8–20

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,

Isaiah 9:6–7

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,

Isaiah 61:1

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,

Luke 4 · chapter mention

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,

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,

Luke 4:43

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,

Luke 9:1–2

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,

Romans 10:17

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

Acts 12 · chapter mention

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,

1 John 3:17–18

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.

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.

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.

For more information,

visit us online

at southwood.org.