Together with the World

Intro

I’m going to date myself: One of my favourite TV shows as a kid was “Pinky and the Brain”

Ask if anyone knows about the show and explain the gist = try to take over the world!

How do you take over the world? Build a paper mache replica and advertise “free t-shirts”… only to have an asteroid destroy the real earth

World domination was quite the rage during Jesus’ time

Romans had perfected it; conquer everything!

But Jesus was subversive; He taught a different power structure

In Revelation we see that His sacrifice was the true conquering power

Jesus also taught His disciples a new way to relate to the world

That is our focus this morning: Together with the world

Pray

For God so Loved the World

One theme in John’s writings is the “world”

Kingdom of God vs. the world

Kingdom = supernatural, perfect, people of God

World = natural, secular, not of God

What is God’s attitude towards the world? One of love

Cf. John 3:16.

Famous verse, right?

See it on a sign behind home plate during the World Series

I think we often naturally mis-read this verse

“For God so loved [Andrew]” = individualism

“For God so loved [the church]” we are His people after all

“For God so loved [the righteous]” = those who please God with their actions

The verse says none of these things

“For God so loved the world”

The broken, the marginalized, the proud, the self-sufficient, the hypocrites, the liars, the ones who are openly hostile to God

He responds with love instead of condemnation

Cf John 3:17.

Condemnation was deserved! The world was arrayed against God

But love was given instead

Jesus came to save the world, and He did so through self-sacrifice

Whenever we talk about the world (or the people of the world) we have to begin on the foundation that Jesus sees every single person as someone worth dying for

In the World, But Not Of the World

While God loves the world, He still calls His disciples out of participation in it

Christians are not to love the world with the selfish love of participation; God loves the world with the self-less, costly love of redemption (D.A. Carson).

As the people of God, this world (and its stuff) is not our home

Cf. John 17:14.

When you choose to follow Jesus, you become citizens of the kingdom of God

Citizenship = home; but declares your priority

Ask if anyone has dual or non-Canadian citizenship

Talk about saying the “Pledge of Allegiance” every morning in school in the US

We are called to pledge allegiance to Christ, and pursue the kingdom first, foremost and always

Part of this call is to not be caught up in the priorities of the world… even things we like

Some pleasures can be good, many are bad, but all of them must find their proper place

Share story of Tim telling me he was becoming “far to concerned with the things of this world”

Fulfillment comes through Christ alone, not money, family, sexual satisfaction or career success (modern day idolatry)

Does this mean we can live apart from the world? Absolutely not!

Cf. John 17:15-18.

We are “called out” for the purpose of being “sent back”

Share about my conversation with Thor and his philosphy of training students to enter into the world (instead of a bubble); just like this weekend retreat

This means we don’t have the luxury of completely removing ourselves from non-Christian people or situations

A challenge for me as a pastor!

It also means that we need to bring the light of Christ into the midst of the darkness around us; we are required to be intentional

Use Tim Keller’s analogy of the rock and the dynamite

How can we be intentional about sharing Jesus? Christ supplies the most effective answer to this question in John 17.

Togetherness as Evangelism

Cf. John 17:20-21.

This is the culmination of all we have learned! We are together with God, who brings us together with one another “SO THAT the world may believe that you have sent me”

Our relationship with God is not just individual, it is missional

Our unity as believers is not just healthy and helpful, it speaks VOLUMES to the world around us.

“As the display of genuine love amongst the believers attests that they are Jesus’ disciples, so this display of unity is so compelling, so un-worldly, that their witness as to who Jesus is becomes explainable only if Jesus truly is the revealer whom the Father has sent. (D.A. Carson)

How we treat each other matters! It is the most effective witness to the world

Francis Chan = Let me tell you what actually works

All other evangelistic tools are supplementary; we have to love one another with the unifying love of Christ first or it won’t hold up

Refer to some helpful evangelism tools

But does our love for each other stand out to the world? Far too often it does not.

Just as our love for one another has the power to bring people closer to Jesus, our lack of togetherness is powerful to push people away

One more COVID illustration; how do we act when the world is watching?

How we treat one another, how we live out our togetherness, matters for the kingdom of God

Conclusion

Everything that we have learned this weekend is connected:

God is love

Father, Son and Spirit living in perfect loving relationship

God invites you into His love

There is something powerful about being “in” the Father, Son and Spirit

This supernatural love is what holds us together with each other

Much more than common interests, shared beliefs or personal willpower

As we are held together, the world will take notice about Jesus

We show the truth of who Jesus is when we display the “un-worldly” togetherness that comes from the divine nature of God Himself

What are we to do?

Lean into your relationship with God

Go deeper with Him because that is the source of everything else

Reminder of the spiritual discipline of silent prayer

Remember that this relationship is not just inidividual, but requires relationship with other believers

Find a Christian community and go deeper with them

Reminder of putting others first in biblical humilty (after submitting to Jesus)

Realize that how you live out Christian community matters greatly to those that have yet to trust in Jesus

There is no greater witness to the world than how you treat your brothers and sisters in Christ

Reminder to be intentional to make Christ known through actions and words; bring the light to the darkness

Pray