Faith Belongs Outside the Walls

Faith Belongs Outside the Walls

Hillside Church of Marin - 24 August 2014

Let’s pray:

I am a simple man, all I have is my all, Lord, and I promise to give you that.

I want to begin this morning by sharing about an experience that profoundly shaped my faith during my teenage years.

During my Sophomore year of high school, a large grouping of churches from across denominational bounds came together for the expressed purpose of hosting the Billy Graham Crusade in my hometown.

Now regardless of what you think about Billy Graham, hang with me for a few minutes and listen to what happened.

In order for the conference to take place in my town, it required the full participation of the local churches in the area. So for about 9 months or so, dozens of churches decided to put aside their ‘churchy differences’ - and work together for a common cause described as “proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to all we can by every effective means available to us and equipping others to do the same.”

And I got a front row seat to watch it happen.

My Pastor invited me to serve on the youth committee.

Don't be impressed. It essentially meant that I got free tickets to the youth night the day before the main sessions in exchange for moving about a billion tables and chairs.

But the best part, I got to sit-in on the leadership gatherings to make the event happen.

It was there that I learned something about the leadership of our area churches that forever shaped me.

I learned that most of the people who served on the leadership committee of that community-oriented evangelistic event could neither articulate their faith nor share it with someone else.

How Interesting?

Most of the people who served on a committee for the expressed purpose of evangelism could neither articulate why they believed in Jesus, nor felt confident in their ability to talk about Jesus with someone else.

Case in point: During one of those leadership gatherings, which consisted of Pastors, Christian community leaders, and respected people from churches all across the town, one of the event consultants asked two questions: “How do we follow-up with people who attend the conference?” and “How do we share the message of Jesus with the wider community who did not attend the conference?”

Nearly everyone in the room responded with a blank stare.

Over the 9 month course of observing those meetings, a shocking reality became clear to me: hardly any of the Christian leaders in our community knew how to share their faith, and as a Sophomore in high school, that blew my mind.

After all, what do Pastor’s go to seminary for?

15 years later, that observation has proved more true than not.

In fact, I want to argue this morning: Most people struggle with sharing their faith. Myself included.

Listen to this:

So as a Sophomore in high school, after observing a bunch of old crusty white guys look wide-eyed and bushy tailed with a simple question, I took the challenge upon myself to share my faith.

And I developed the perfect strategy to do so.

At the end of the Crusade, everyone who attended received a tract to give to someone else who didn’t attend the conference. For those of you who don’t know, a tract is a small booklet that can fit inside your pocket that outlines the story of the Gospel.

It is important to note here for the story that each person only received one tract due to limited supply.

I took this challenge upon myself so seriously that I memorized the tract not only so that I could fully internalize the message, but so that I could keep the booklet and give it to the one person who really needed it.

Wasn't that crazy? That's how arrogant I was to lead others to Jesus and prove the other church leaders wrong. I was sharing my faith out of reaction to the leadership committee and my drive to save others.

Now, undoubtedly, at this point, you must be thinking that by the end of that year, every kid in my high school heard about the good news of Jesus.

However, every time that I attempted to approach someone to share my faith with them, I would begin to feel so nervous inside that my stomach would get upset, I would begin to doubt my intentions, and then ultimately, I would wimp out.

By the end of the school year, I shared my faith with exactly 0 people.

On the last day of my Sophomore year, I yanked the tract out of my pocket, tore it up, and I threw it out the window of my car. I littered all over the place - but I didn’t even care

I came to the awful realization that I, too, struggled to share my faith with others. I had a real desire, but my approach fell flat.

I felt ashamed of myself. I loved Jesus with all of my heart in high school, and I felt confident in my faith - even then - and I knew why I believed in Jesus. I felt guilty that I could not seem to do one of the most important commands that Jesus tells his followers to do.

At the end of the Book of Matthew, Jesus tells all of his disciples to, "Go and make (other) disciples."

The very last thing that Jesus said to his followers before he ascended into Heaven, as recorded in the Book of Acts, was "Be my witnesses," which simply means share your experience of me with others.

I know many of you right now feel the same way that I did then. You love Jesus with all of your heart. You know why you believe in Jesus and you feel confident in your salvation and redemption. But quite honestly, if I told you to leave here and share your faith with someone - with anyone - today, and you had today only to do it, then more than likely you would either revolt against me or endure a panic attack.

In fact, some of you, even those of you with a great faith, have never simply shared your faith with another and made a disciple.

Ask yourself this question, do the people at your work or your school or your social circles even know that you follow Jesus?

I spoke with a man once a while back not affiliated with Hillside who admitted to me that no one who worked with him at his office knew that he followed Jesus. The shock came when he said that he had been working for that firm for more than 20 years.

If this at all relates to you, then I want you to know that I am with you. I understand what it means to possess the desire in your heart, but feel ill-equipped to work it out.

Over the years as I reflected on my failed month of personal evangelism, I started to recognize a pattern of what actually happened and why I constantly wimped out on sharing my faith with my friends.

I realized that I was fumbling my opportunities to share my faith in three ways.

In fact, not only do these faith fumbles pertain to me, but I would argue that they also pertained to the group of Christian leaders who gathered together in the room that night, as well as many of you sitting in this room this morning:

Listen to my 3 faith fumbles, and ask yourself this question: "Have I ever fumbled an opportunity to share my with someone else because of one of these 3 lies that you believe either about yourself or others?"

Faith Fumble #1: I will rely on someone else will do it. Perhaps they do not know you well enough... perhaps they need to talk to someone more experienced... perhaps they need someone who will stay in their life long term... so someone else will do it.

Faith Fumble #2: I will have another time to do it.

Faith Fumble #3: I fear I can't do it. You fear that if you do share your faith, then you will receive ridicule, judgment, and even alienation - which let’s face it, to be ostracized is the worst thing that could happen to anyone of us on social level and something that all of us fear.

If this at all beats closely to the heart of your experiences, then I want to offer you hope and a fresh perspective today to pick up your fumbled opportunity and get back in the game. This church and our Marin community needs you to get back in the game. And most important, God needs you to get back in the game for the sake of his Kingdom.

To do so, I want to look at a passage of Scripture with you this morning. It comes from the Old Testament Book of 2 Kings.

Some of you may remember a couple of years ago when I preached through the 6th and 7th chapters of 2 Kings. I want to look at that latter part of that passage with you again this morning as we wrestle through how to share our faith with other.

Full disclosure: this passage challenged my entire perspective on why I need to share my faith as often as possible to as many as possible. This passage changed my life. I love teaching on this passage.

So let’s dig in.

Due to the length, I am going to tell you 3/4’s of the story and then I will read the climax from Scripture itself.

I’m giving you a fair warning - fasten your seat belts - because if you take this seriously and listen for the Spirit to convict you with this passage, then I fully believe that not only will you never be the same, but our church and our Marin community, will never be the same.

The history of this passage takes place in the city of Samaria, which at the time was the capitol city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Some of you may be thinking I thought Jerusalem was the capitol, and it was, but of the southern kingdom. And just in case you did not know that Israel was at one point divided into 2 kingdoms, then you are in good company.

One year, an enemy of Israel, the Arameans, declared war against the Northern Kingdom of Israel and laid siege to the capitol city of Samaria. For an enemy to lay siege against another meant preventing anything from coming or going into the besieged city.

Nothing could get into the city - water, food, resources and other supplies, and nothing could leave the city - waste in particular.

Sieges often lasted for years and even decades. Though it was a lengthy process, it was considered the surest way for an enemy to capture a city without bloodshed. The besieged city would eventually collapse until either every person died of starvation and disease or the remaining few surrendered to the enemy.

The author of 2 Kings begins this passage at year 3 of the siege against Samaria.

The author tells us that by the third year of besiegement, life got so bad inside the city that a cab of seed pods, what you and I would call dove poop - used for fuel to make fire - sold for 5 shekels of silver, which roughly would be the equivalent of $500.

In fact, life got so bad that the author recounts a conversation between two women over who first would boil their child for food.

Life inside besieged Samaria was quite literally hell on earth - as awful and tragic as one could possibly imagine. The saying, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” I don’t think the goriest fiction writer would go so far to pen that phrase.

Only one word can describe the people inside the walls of this city: Desperate.

Here is where I want to pick up the passage in 2 Kings (NIV). It reads:

Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates.

They sat outside the city gate because the people forbade lepers to live inside the walls of the city.

“Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. “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.

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!

Imagine the surprise on the faces of the 4 lepers. Everyone inside the walls believed that a vast army sat just on the other side patiently waiting for either death or surrender. Neither option posed any hope for the Israelites. Yet, the reality of what actually existed on the other side of the walls offered hope and freedom.

Here's what happened:

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. So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives.

When the lepers 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.

The lepers discovered wealth and resources beyond their wildest imagination. Enough food and clothing and wealth and resources for an entire army of men left for 4 lepers to use at their own disposal. They discovered the ultimate jackpot - the ultimate solution to their most dire situation. Enough food for an army also meant enough food for a city.

And the response of the lepers? Hoard and hide. Hoard and hide.

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!

Inside the walls was death. Outside the walls was life. Inside the walls, the people believed a different reality than what really existed. The people inside the city walls believed that outside the walls meant certain death.

But the 4 lepers discovered that in reality - true reality - not a perception or a hunch or an idea of a reality - but true reality - they discovered that outside the walls actually meant life... satisfaction... fulfillment… and salvation!

Outside of the walls boasted more wealth and treasure and food than all of the lepers could possibly consume in a hundred lifetimes.

Do you see the point the author wants to make? Do you see where I am going with this?

The Good News that day proclaimed to the captives inside the walls that a different reality was true for every single person who longed for rescue! Salvation is here!

The lepers understood the gravity and responsibility of sharing this good news!

They discovered salvation from God, and they knew what to do in response!

They did not look around for someone else to share this news with Samaria. They were the only ones!

They did not wait around until the right time came to approach the king of Samaria. They did not sit alone in a room studying how to craft the language they would use to share this good news. Nor did they stay huddled together contemplating what would be the right thing to do!

There was no time to waste. Every moment that passed meant another moment of suffering for the people inside the city walls of Samaria.

And the lepers did not fear what could happen to them. The passage goes onto describe the ramifications for the lepers. The king did not immediately believe the lepers and needed convincing. If the king had decided not to believe the lepers' story, then certainly they would have been killed.

That did not phase them because the lepers knew that a different reality - a different way of life that consisted of salvation and redemption - existed for the people outside the walls.

Friends, you know people in our community who - much like the people who lived in Samaria - believe in and live according to a reality that ultimately does not pan out.

If you follow Jesus, then you know this because at one time in our life, you lived it.

The only difference between Samaria and our lives here and now is we can mask the feeling of desperation. The people of Samaria were out of options. Here, you and I possess unlimited options that can easily mask our need for salvation.

God forbid that anyone of you or anyone ever experiences the kind of conversation between those two mothers in that passage. But the feeling of desperation - hopelessness - not the act from the passage - but the emotion - that resonates with us.

And the truth from this passage - and the truth from all of Scripture - and the truth from the death and resurrection of Jesus - proclaims from the Heavens - that God, your Creator and Father, never intended for you to live that way - without hope and an intact relationship with your Creator.

Do you think that God intended for boys to grow up without their fathers? Or for people to suffer from addiction?

In the name of Jesus, no!

God always intended for us to live outside the city walls - always from the very beginning - never wanted us to ever endure the hardships and desperation of living inside the city gates.

But your sin and my sin and the sin of every human being who ever walked the face of the planet broke what God wanted so much for us to experience - a whole, perfect, loving relationship with him.

And the result of what we broke - not what God broke - what we broke - landed us inside the walls of Samaria, believing a myth that our only way of life is confined within the walls of Samaria.

But praise God that he did not leave Samaria, nor you and I, to fend for ourselves and face the repercussions of living under siege and apart from God.

Rather, outside the walls, sits a prepared feast with more food than you could possibly share and more provision than you could possible give away.

It was God that made that army leave, and it was God that made that sin go away!

Because the moment that we broke our relationship with God, the next instant, God began repairing it.

God wants more than anything to be with you. God even went so far as to sacrifice everything to redeem what we broke and restore our relationship back to rights with him.

Some of you know this, and you can bear witness to this truth - that when you lose your life, you gain everything.

The lepers took a risk and discovered that God did not forget his city, but rather, God prepared a feast that could feed everyone in besieged Samaria 10 times over.

The lepers called it “Good News,” in the Greek, Jesus calls it “Evangelion,” which is the word that we derive our english word, “Evangelism,” meaning Good News!

Evangelion - evangelism - good news.

I love these windows because when I look out into the greater Marin community, it reminds me that my faith belongs outside of these walls.

(Bring out Sol Food)

As I worship in this space and feast on Sol Food, I fill my belly on the Good News of Christ and get back in the game. Even when I fumble, I need to pick up the ball and get back into the game.

Christ alone saves, but you and I play a role in getting the word out to invite the hungry to the feast!

Jesus calls us to release the feast!

And what we can do together is fill our bellies and stuff our mouths full of food and then get back out there into the community and city to begin inviting all of the other hungry people - people hungry for change - people hungry for redemption - people hungry for grace and mercy - people hungry for a new way of life - and people hungry for a true reality - to come and feast with us!

Every empty chair that I see in here represents someone who is hungry out there!

Every empty chair that I see in here represents someone who is hungry out there!

Friends, how long are you going to wait?

How long are you going to watch the marriage of your friends go down the tubes before you say something?

How long are you going to listen to your friend talk about acquisition and possession as a means toward self-fulfillment before you say something?

Guys, let’s real talk, how long will stand idle before you address with your friends that pornography is not a healthy means toward dealing with emotions.

Ladies, let’s real talk, how long will you listen to your friends equate beauty with self-worth?

My awesome teenagers, let’s real talk, how long will you let your friends believe that getting into the perfect college is the key to a perfect life?

My friends, according to most estimates, only about 10 percent of our community is feasting right now. Only 10 percent of people who live in Marin are plugged into a church - a community of the redeemed by Christ - and feasting this morning?

That breaks my heart.

In this room, there’s enough Soul Food for everyone.

How long until you invite someone who is hungry out there to come and feasts with us in here?

You gotta pick up the ball - even though you will fumble again - you gotta pick up the ball and get back in the game. It’s too important, and there is no one else to do it. It’s you and me.

I saw a tweet last night that reads, “Preachers who won’t share their faith are like doctors who won’t see their patients.”

I’m in this with you.

It’s and you and me. It’s all of us together, encouraging one another, reminding one another, challenging one another, and staying unified together against every obstacle.

You have nothing to fear.

In fact, James - the brother of Jesus - wrote in the very opening statement of his letter:

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

Quote honestly, those of you who don’t share your faith don’t know the fullest potential of joy awaiting for you. It is when you stand on the front lines - when you stand in the gaps - of the unknown that you need Jesus most and feel most connected to him.

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Friends, the time is now.

You are the one do it.

You have nothing to fear.

So, pick up the ball, and release the feast!

Let’s pray together…