Triumph in Hostility

Edward Agee

Navigating the Culture • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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Navigating the Culture

“Triumph in Hostility”

Big Idea is that We Win

We can’t get to the concept of victory until we are rooted in a foundation of our identity and worth in Christ

We can’t be listening to the lies of the Devil that assault us on every side

We can’t address the lies that our culture tells us until we live truth

not just know it, but live it, until our identity/ our very essence is rooted in the fact that we are sons and daughters of God

Lies that tell us that our worth is tied to the things that we have

Possessions

Lies that tell us that our worth is tied to what we do/ what we have we have done

accomplishments

Lies that tell us that our worth is tied to what others think of us

Our worth is determined by the cost paid for us

Bigger and Better

Coke bottle fundraiser

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NASB95

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

REVIEW

Navigating the Culture…That has been our focus for these last several weeks.

During this time, we have grappled with the question

“How will Christians effectively interact where we have lost the home-field advantage and are increasingly marginalized in popular culture?”

We determined that when it comes to our interaction with the culture, we have three options.

Isolation…Well we can’t do that.

If we isolate, we lose our God-given opportunities to represent Christ in a lost and confused world.

Assimilation…We can’t do that either.

If we assimilate, we lose the sharp edge of truth and grace that people desperately need to know.

The only viable option, the option sanctioned by our lord, Jesus Christ when He called us salt and light, is…

Engagement...

we engage with the unapologetic proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ!

We engage those trapped in the lie of culture with a powerful blend of truth and grace.

God has called us to move toward broken, hurting, confused, messed up people.

That’s what Jesus does, and He expects us to follow His lead!

So, then the criteria for engagement is engagement without compromise.

We can not become like the world, and then hope to win the world. (Did you hear me?)

So how do we manage that?

By walking close to Jesus,

remaining sensitive to the Holy Spirit,

connecting with each other in order to be

trained,

equipped

and encouraged.

Let’s move forward: “Triumph in Hostility!”

Please open your Bibles to II Corinthian 4:16-18-Read the passage.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NASB95

Triumph in Hostility!

The Lord will bless the reading of His word.

Here’s today’s BIG Idea:

“We Win!”

It just didn’t happen as expected!”

demolition of the Silverdome.

Thousands of people gathered in Pontiac on Sunday, December 3, 2017, to witness the demolition of the Silverdome.

No longer used, because of its aging infrastructure.

The building was to be demolished so that the valuable land could be reclaimed.

Explosives were put near each of its steel pillars and at precisely 8:30 am, the crowd gathered to witness the spectacle of the collapsing stadium.

Cars were lined up along Hall Road to watch the explosion

Jeslyn and I were on our way into work

The moment the dynamite was detonated, dust and debris shot out from around the base of the stadium.

But to everyone’s surprise, the structure remained standing.

Though damaged, the steel beams were still able to keep the stadium upright.

One observer commented: “It was just built too well!”

2 Timothy 3:12 NASB95

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Friends, there’s a promise that Jesus made that I cling to every day; He said,

“I will build MY Church”

and the gates of hell shall not prevail…

shall not triumph,

shall not overcome,

shall not conquer,

shall not defeat,

shall not vanquish.

Shall I go on? I have a good thesaurus. I think you get the picture.

Friends, At the end of time;

the devil,

his forces,

his dark powers and principalities,

along with modern prophets who “huffed and puffed” about the Church’s

perceived weaknesses or

lack of influence…

will have to admit: “It was just built well!”

Promises of God

So do not fear, for I am with you

he will never leave you nor forsake you

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him

though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

“by his wounds you have been healed.”

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus

Let me take it one step farther…Let’s make it personal:

Hear me closely Christians, when our life on earth is over, the devil himself will have to say:

of every Christian who endures to the end…”

He was just built too well!”

“She was just built too well!”

That’s the testimony of everyone whose life is built on Jesus and His word!

You see…we win!

Our challenges are big; but our God is bigger!

We live for another world.

We battle effectively,

because we’re willing to exchange the things,

we can perceive the more valuable things we cannot see. (That’s what we read in today’s text)

2 Corinthians 4:18 NASB95

while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We must strive in prayer and have courage to witness

because the power of Christ to transform hearts and lives is within us.

We, the Church, cannot/must not retreat,

but instead

we face opposition with our sights set beyond this world to the next.

Listen to the II Corinthians passage again, this time from the Message Bible:

“So, we’re not giving up. How could we?! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making a new life, not a day goes by without His unfolding grace.”

These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times; the lavish celebrating prepared for us.

There’s far more than meets the eye.

The things we see now are here today gone tomorrow.

But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”

Imagine an old-fashioned scale, the kind where you put a one-pound weight on one end and then a counter balancing on the other.

The apostle Paul is saying,

On one side of the scale Put:

bundle all your trials,

every fear the loss of our freedoms,

our nation’s addictions to aberrant sexuality,

religious harassment,

children who are not walking with God,

substance abuse,

a bad marriage…etc.

And, then on the other side put…

eternal glory that far outweighs them all”

And the scale will go…plunk!

Devil forces us into forced choice

Crippling fear and anxiety

crippling depression

Both are isolation

Worthlessness (I’m not good enough)

you’re perfect and you don’t need anyone else

both lead to loneliness

You need all the things to be happy

You have all the best things already

neither lead to happiness

Be like everyone else and care about what they think

Be unique/weird so others notice us

God calls us to be like HIM

our goal should be to noticed by God not others

You can’t ever be good enough, so mine as well stop trying

You’ve done so much bad things, you need to do all the good things (KARMA)

Both values are based on works and God says our Righteousness comes from faith

we talked about that last week

Live your faith:

Read your Bible then forget it

Praying before you eat is enough

Go to church

those are all good, but they aren’t enough unless you are living in relationship with the living Savior

What we have waiting for us in heaven is beyond comparison.

The invisible realm is as real as this visible one,

so it must remain the source of our joyful motivation here on earth.

We are to, “fix our eyes on Jesus. The pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 NASB95

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus looked not for the joy of this world, but the joy that would be His in the world to come.

In so doing He completed His assignment and secured our redemption.

And, now as His disciples, His followers,

we accept His assignment and faithfully bring His message and ministry of redemption and freedom to this culture that desperately needs what we have received.”

So…let me give you 3 specifics

Go ahead and show that photograph.

high ropes

peter walking on water

“Don’t look around! Look only at me! Keep climbing.

Those same instructions apply to us.

“Don’t look around! Look only at me! Keep going!”

So here we are:

Three instructions to follow:

Don’t get caught up looking around at the circumstances in your life

that are all around you, like:

unemployment,

delicate health,

cash shortfalls.

Don’t get caught up looking at a nation that seems to be falling apart

socially, financially, politically, morally.

Don’t let any of the darkness in this world prey on your mind and heart.

Don’t let it dominate your conversations,

your social media,

your relationships.

There are challenges, and threats around us that can cause any of us to “freeze” in fear and keep us from fulfilling God’s will and purpose for us.

like if we look down when climbing

But instead, Jesus says… Look at me!

Some of you might be thinking:

Now hold up pastor, we’ve just spent 3 weeks considering the culture and our responsibilities as believers for engagement…now you’re saying don’t look around…which is it?

It’s both.

Simply out…we glance at the culture; we gaze at Jesus.

Of course, we have to know what’s happening around us,

but our gaze remains on Jesus.

Spend time every day adoring Jesus, worshiping Him.

See, the only way we will triumph in all the hostility that surrounds us

is by discipling our minds and hearts, so we push aside current fears and anxieties…

and focus our thoughts and affections on Christ alone.

Mountaintop Experiences vs Disciplined living

That’s how we keep moving with Him, and toward the Kingdom goals He has set before us.

Jesus would say to us:

Keep your eyes on me. I made it home and I will guide you to where I am.

And…Keep Climbing!

The fact is, we have no other viable choice.

Surely, we don’t want to go back to where we we’ve been.

Each of us believers has been called to grow and go with Christ, further and deeper and higher.

We must continue to press forward and upward.

Let’s heed Paul’s words found in Philippians 3:14

Philippians 3:14 NASB95

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Christ’s call to us is that we keep climbing.

When looking at all that surrounds us, which sometimes feels like mortal danger, don’t even think this might be the end.

The “end” is when

all the Father has purposed in Christ Jesus

and has promised to all who belong to Christ

is finally and totally fulfilled.

Not one moment before that.

You see, in the end…We win!

When Jesus died on that cross, he said “IT IS FINISHED”

He didn’t say “To be continued.”

The veil to the presence of God was torn

the old way of doing things are now worthless

Your worth is forever determined by the price that God paid, and he paid so much that He died for you

His life was the cost for your life

his life was the cost for your freedom

His life was the cost for your Healing

Do you live in Victory?