The 5pm Vision Night

Message

So why the 5? Over the last few months since we launched this experience in February, we have learned much about how to build a community by millennials, for millennials. Many of you have given us your feedback along the way, and we’ve been intently listening to you, alongside the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to determine the purpose and direction for the next season of the 5pm. Tonight, I want to share with you where and how we believe Jesus wants to lead the young adult community of our church for the sake of the city. My goal tonight is threefold and very simple: First, over the next half hour, I’m going to answer the question: Why the 5? I want you to know with extreme clarity why this 5pm experience matters so much to our Senior Pastor… to our 5pm leadership team… to our 5pm Community Leader team... to our church… to our city… and ultimately, to Christ and his Kingdom. Second, I want you to leave here tonight with a memorable, portable, and compelling vision for why we’re doing what we’re doing here at the 5pm so that you can then, in turn, share this community with anybody, anytime, anywhere... because as we’ll hear tonight, this community was meant to be shared. It’s for you... and It’s also for the city. Third, I want you to leave here tonight with clarity on how you personally can further set your roots into this 5pm community and bear the good news of Jesus Christ "to a city and a generation who feel destined to live alone, together.” - Alison Sher Every generation faces its own unique challenge, and loneliness seems to be ours. Alison Sher, a Millennial sociologist writes, “I see a generation that is collectively coming to terms with the existential truth that humans are a species that will forever be alone, together.” Loneliness is a stark reality for many young adults. Loneliness always feel apparent. It doesn’t sit quietly in the backseat of our lives. Rather, loneliness often feels like gasping for air. It’s desperate. It’s despairing. It’s our truth. Perhaps no other generation in history has experienced this more than those of us in our 20s and 30s. Connected, but alone. Well put together, but desperate. This 5pm experience is our church’s response to this generation’s unique challenge: loneliness. And perhaps no other narrative from the Bible offers such a compelling vision for this moment of time in which we live right now than a shadow moment from the history of Israel, as recorded in the book of 2 Kings chapters 6 and 7. Follow along with me as we begin in 2 Kings chapter 6, verse 24, page ? in the Bible located at the seat back in front of you. The author of 2 Kings begins this narrative with some assumptions that the reader knows about certain names and places, so let me encourage you not to feel snagged by what you don’t know. Instead, ask yourself this question: how might our city and the lives of your friends and colleagues compare with the circumstances of Samaria? Keep that question in the back of your mind, because the connecting circumstances may not be so obvious, but the answer to this question may surprise you. Beginning in chapter 6, verse 24, the author records: 24 Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. Fact, this happened in history. 25 As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. At first reading, like I said, the circumstances between their world and ours don’t readily connect. Anyone recently buy a donkey’s head? All we know is that "sometime later" after some set of prior circumstances, the King of a nation called Aram located to the northeast of Samaria mustered his army and laid siege to Samaria, the capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Now, some of you might be wondering: “What is a siege?” A siege is a military blockade against a fortified place that prevents any resource from going into or any waste from coming out of that place. At the time, a siege was one of the most effective offensive war tactics that an army could employ against their enemy. It quite literally strangled the life out of a city to the point of surrender. And a siege could literally last for years depending on the size and resources of that besieged city. For a conquering nation with time and patience, though, sieges minimized death tolls and supplies and almost always resulted in defeated surrender. Kings from the each one of the surrounding nations coveted Samaria. It was a beautiful, fortified city on a hill with lush land surrounding it. In fact, Samaria had been unsuccessfully besieged numerous times. It’s size and supply chain, as well as its geographical advantages, outlasted each one of those sieging armies.

Except this one, at least it seems.

Some scholars estimate that King Ben-hadad’s army laid siege to Samaria for seven years, causing severe famine on the land, economic destruction, disease, chaos and disorder. In fact, the people within the city gates had become so desperate for food that a donkey’s head sold for 80 pieces of silver. [show pic of donkey] Anyone care to feast on that ugly face? Obviously, no human being would ever want to eat the head of this thing, but furthermore, God’s law forbade it. According to Leviticus 11:4, the law of Moses commanded for God’s people not to eat such animals. The Ryan paraphrase of this verse says, “Don’t eat donkeys, because “they nastay!” Imagine being so desperate, so full of despair, so hungry that you would cash out the modern day equivalent $1324.80 to eat a part of an animal that no one eats, let alone a work animal forbidden to eat by the law of God. Ever feel so desperate? Physically? Emotionally desperate? Relationally desperate? Spiritually desperate? Desperate for that gasp of air to quench your loneliness. For that glimpse of purpose... For that rush of love... Ever feel so desperate that no cost seemed too great to get some relief? Yeah, me too. I don’t think anyone gets past young adulthood without feeling desperate. In this shadow moment of Israel’s history, there was no relief to be had for Samaria. They were in the thick of it with no hope of overcoming it. Only a dim reality shared by those confined within the city gates who were coming to terms with the existential truth themselves that they were destined to die alone within a city on the brink of total annihilation.

Do you think any of one of God’s people living in Samaria at the time believed there was any good news left for them in this world?

Ask yourself:

Do you believe that there is any good news to be had by you? How about your friends and colleagues? Do you believe there is any good news for our city? Or what about for our generation? Sometimes I lay awake at night imagining about young adults who don’t believe there’s any good news for them other than some idea about success as defined by the loudest influences of our culture, which typically amounts to sex and money in some way shape or form. But is that all? That can’t be all! Part of the calling on our community is to ask the question: What would life mean for young adults who didn’t: 1. Feel alone 2. Equate intimacy with shame. 3. Choose the dollar over character 4. Work dissatisfied 5. Feel insignificant 6. Feel haunted by their past 7. Live imprisoned by their failures 8. Envision a dim future for themselves Ultimately, each one of us know how desperation ends, and the question this narrative begs us to ask is: What is good news for a desperate generation? Your answer to that question is your answer to: “Why the 5?” What is good news?

Here, the author helps us answer just that question through the eyes of a group of unsuspecting dudes, beginning in chapter 7, verses 3 through 9: 3 Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates [to Samaria]. “Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. 4 “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in [Samaria], we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.”

You just gotta love their rational, thoughtfulness. These were dead men walking, but they chose to actively decide their fate, rather than passively let the clock run out, and I love that about these guys. That is one of the reasons why I love this passage so much. May our lives, too, reflect the courage of these men. May we always engage life and stay in the fight, together. 5 So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there! 6 For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!” they cried to one another. 7 So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives. “No one was there!” Why? Because God remained faithful to the promise: I will be your God, and you will be my people! Thus, on the brink of loss and devastation, God caused the army to flee, leaving all of their stuff behind for the spoils.

8 When the men with leprosy arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. 9 Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone!...Come on, let’s go back and tell the people.” Nearly seven years into the siege... with famine, death, destruction of every kind... did God forget his people? Did God turn away from his promises? No. Even when all seemed lost and without hope, a was made where there seemed now way, God restored his people back to rights. Because God is a God of restorative mercy, And the leper’s response? Let’s plunder the goods, man! Let’s Feast, indulge, and hideaway the goods for ourselves. I love the humanity of this narrative. Until one leper says to the others, one of the most profound and transformational statements of my life, and I hope for yours, as well: This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! Let me ask you this question: what is this good news they’re not sharing? Is it simply the provisions and spoils of war? Food, clothes, animals, gold, and silver? Well, yes, to an extent, but most important, the good news of God’s steadfast faithfulness to the covenant promise that says, “I am your God, and you are my people, and NOTHING can break apart this love between us, not even a powerful army that besieges your city... not even overwhelming circumstances that besiege your heart. And that, my friends, is good news. The love bond that God created for between us! The Gospel-writer, Luke, records how Jesus inaugurated his ministry by entering into the synagogue, opening the scroll of Isaiah, and reading aloud these words. Listen to how Jesus began his salvation work:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, and that the oppressed will be set free.” Luke 4:18 Jesus read these words from Isaiah speaking of the anticipated Messiah, who would fulfill the covenant that God made with Israel and truly set the world... our hearts... and our very lives back to rights, bringing about God’s kingdom in the world, as it is in Heaven. This is good news! And thus why we feel such a sense of urgency for this 5pm experience. Why the 5? Why now? Why does our church need this 5pm experience for young adults in our city right now? The 5pm experience exists to help young adults live for God’s Kingdom. Following the purpose of our church and the leadership of our Senior Pastor to help people find and follow Christ, we’re trying to help young adults live for God’s Kingdom, not just our own.

Because living for our kingdom is proving lonesome, desperate, and dissatisfying. If living for our own kingdom means that we have to settle for the existential reality that we’re destined to live alone, together, then perhaps we need to ask the question: is there a different kingdom!

Is there something bigger for me to live for, other than just me? And we think there is. As we live toward God’s Kingdom, together, we believe that every young adult can be: 1. known freely 2. loved unconditionally 3. successful ethically 4. Productive meaningfully 5. fit holistically 6. redeemed fully 7. Forgiven wholly 8. Sent Purposefully To witness the reality of heaven on earth here and now. This is ultimately the vision of where God is moving the world, so let’s join the work, together. The Disciple, John, wrote at the end of his revelation, saying: “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:3-5 This is good news. This is where the world is going, and this is also where we need to go. It may to some here tonight that the evil one is laying siege to your heart, preventing anything good from nourishing your soul. This may seem like your reality. You may even feel desperate for any kind of relief. Let me acknowledge your truth and affirm your emotions.

And also say that... the good news that Jesus proclaimed announced that the powers and principalities of our world have been defeated and, in fact, do not hold any power over you.

Until the lepers announced the good news, what did the city of Samaria believe about their fate? They believed the enemy stood just outside of the walls waiting for their surrender and impending death?

But what was their actual reality? The enemy was gone and a feast awaited for them on the other side!

Friends, I am here to announce the good news that in Christ, the enemy has been defeated, God has forgiven us of our sins in Christ, and is moving history forward toward a day when Heaven and Earth will be restored together as one kingdom united.

In Christ, we get to witness the coming true here and now of the Lord’s prayer ‘on Earth, as it is in Heaven,’ as we fully live into all of what this good news entails, while helping other desperate young adults find freedom from an enemy who no longer wields power over their hearts.

Sure, the enemy still makes fleeting attempts to steal, kill, and destroy and sometimes successfully, even though his war is lost.

But with the 5pm, we’re fighting back and not letting one more day pass by us where we tolerate another young adult succumb to the false illusions of the evil one when we know that the cross defeated his power and removed all of our fear!

That moment is what we’re fighting for, why the church matters, why this community at the 5pm for young adults matters!

Now, that moment, man that moment, feels so right. That moment feels so good. That moment when young adults can meet Jesus through this 5pm experience and be: 1. known freely 2. loved unconditionally 3. successful ethically 4. Productive meaningfully 5. fit holistically 6. redeemed fully 7. Forgiven wholly 8. Sent Purposefully That’s worth fighting for.

About a year after I began serving here as a Pastor, I encountered one of the most difficult and contrasting 24 hour periods of my life. On one summer Sunday evening in August, much like tonight, I had the great honor of officiating the marriage ceremony between a man and woman whom I deeply appreciate. Twenty-four hours later, I received the honor of officiating another ceremony, but this one a funeral for a young man. Both the couple and this young man were each 24 years old. I have often reflected on that 24 hour period of time, a time between these 24 years olds, a time really between life and death. I’ve reflected on the precarious divide between life and death and the slim line in between them that contains our story. We can believe either one of two realities about our lives: We can believe there is an army outside of our walls, surrounding us, laying siege to us, preventing any good measure from coming into our lives. Or, we can believe that God indeed defeated that army, rescued us from our peril, and provides now for our every need and desire. Do you know what the difference is between these two realities? Courage. The courage to trust.

The courage to peek over the wall and trust that God has actually defeated the enemy. The courage to call Christ, Lord. And also the courage to share that good news to a world who desperately needs it. I think many of us can muster the courage to peek over the wall, but do you have the courage to call Christ, Lord, and share the good news that We’re more broken than we want to admit, but more loved than we could possibly know?

How will you choose to live? Tonight, let me challenge all of you to live for God’s kingdom, not your own, for in doing so, you will experience here and now glimpses of heaven on earth. Yeah, we’re still broken and living in a world yearning for final redemption, but we’re getting there, together. In Christ, you will experience here and now glimpses of no more tears... or death... or sorrow... or crying... or pain. You will experience here and now peace that transcends all understanding. You will experience here and now the promise of satisfaction. You will experience here and now the freedom of forgiveness. And you will experience here and now what many young adults fear they will never experience, the joy of knowing and being known. That, my friends, is good news. So, why the 5? Because we believe we can help young adults live for God’s Kingdom. Over this next year, let’s discover together what living for God’s Kingdom means for young adults in Miami. We need every one of you for this adventure. I am not ashamed about creating a space to help young adults live for God’s Kingdom, but I’m also unwilling to do this at the exclusion of anyone older than their 20s and 30s. I hope all of you find a place within this community, too. But let me ask you in particular: Will you help us achieve this purpose and see Christ’s vision for our church and the city come true?

Help us toward this end. Please do not simply feast and hoard onto what you already know. Help us, instead, to share the good news with as many as possible that God defeated the enemy. They no longer stand outside the gates. As you invite others here, you can expect to invite them into a 65 minute experience with equal weight given to the transformational agencies of community, worship, and teaching. If we try something and it doesn’t work, let’s not get hung up about it. Instead, let’s learn from it, stay bonded together in peace, and keep moving forward to help young adults live for God’s kingdom!

Pray for us, for one another, for our church, for the leaders of this experience, and for our city so that we may grow together in the fruits of God’s Spirit, beginning with love. Because, here in this place, we’re not destined to live alone, together. That won’t be our story. No, in this place, we’re destined to see God’s kingdom come in Miami as it is in Heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through each one of us, together.

Would you pray with me?

Sher writes, “I see a generation that is collectively coming to terms with the existential truth that humans are species that will forever be alone, together.” Connected, but alone. Well put together, but desperate. This 5pm experience is our church’s response to this generation’s unique challenge: loneliness. How might our city and the lives of your friends and colleagues compare with the circumstances of Samaria? Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. 2 Kings 6:24-25

A siege is a military blockade against a fortified place that prevents any resource from going into or any waste from coming out of that place. Pic of Samaria Pic of donkey What would life mean for young adults who didn’t: 1. Feel alone 2. Equate intimacy with shame. 3. Choose the dollar over character 4. Work dissatisfied 5. Feel insignificant 6. Feel haunted by their past 7. Live imprisoned by their failures 8. Envision a dim future for themselves What is good news for a desperate generation? 3 Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates. “Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. 4 “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.” 5 So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there! 6 For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!” they cried to one another. 7 So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives. 8 When the men with leprosy arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. 9 Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone!...Come on, let’s go back and tell the people.” 2 Kings 7:3-9 This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, and that the oppressed will be set free.” Luke 4:18 The 5pm experience exists to help young adults live for God’s Kingdom. If living for our own kingdom means that we have to settle for the existential reality that we’re destined to live alone, together, then perhaps we need to live for a different kingdom! As we live toward God’s Kingdom, together, we believe that every young adult can be: 1. known freely 2. loved unconditionally 3. successful ethically 4. Productive meaningfully 5. fit holistically 6. redeemed fully 7. Forgiven wholly 8. Sent Purposefully “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:3-5 1. known freely 2. loved unconditionally 3. successful ethically 4. Productive meaningfully 5. fit holistically 6. redeemed fully 7. Forgiven wholly 8. Sent Purposefully We’re more broken than we want to admit, but more loved than we could possibly know So, why the 5? Because we believe we can help young adults live for God’s Kingdom.