Urban Reformation

This morning I stayed home with my children from church because my daughter had a sore throat. I actually watched our live video feed of the sermon on line.

It was a powerfully delivered sermon and I was blessed to be able to stay home and still attend church over the media of the Internet.

This was an example of God using Media for our benefit!

The sermon this morning was about:
Title:  The Need of Endurance

Think Biblically About Assurance
Text: Hebrews 10:32-39

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

What was really interesting, because this is the first time we’ve ever done this, was all three of my children had a ton of questions after the sermon.  I was humbled by their questions, but one of the questions was, “What does verse 38 really mean?”  I don’t understand what it means said my 7 year old son Ian, when he said, “my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

His other question was “What does hold fast to the Gospel really mean.”  We were able to have a long discussion about the seductions of the world.  How we really don’t understand what it means to “Shrink Back” because in the United states of America our “shrinking back” is not saying something about Jesus when we should, verses renouncing Christ if we were to lose our lives, or our possessions.  Pastor Tim did a wonderful Job wrestling with the text attempting to ask questions about our faith and one of the other questions that he asked was, ” what proofs do we have of our faith?”  Reminding us that once again our biblical assurance isn’t founded in our profession as much as it is found in the evidence of our works.

So Ian came up with the story from Matthew 14, of peter walking on the water, he said, “So holding fast is like when peter walked on the water, but when he took his eyes off of Jesus, he started to shrink back in the water?  but when he put his eyes on Jesus he was holding fast?”    My son whom I think isn’t listening most of the time, and rarely gives his thoughts on sermons or church other than to play and have a good time with friends seemed to grasp it!

This then led into a conversation about the storms of life, and the distractions of the world.  Other things which pull your attention away from God, like media, video games and the like.  Which lead me to sit down and consider chapter two, in this book Worldliness.  One of the things that we mustn’t do is allow something to creep up on our focus on Christ, so we must pro-actively build our lives on the rock of Christ. And when I got to page 40 of the book, well I will quote it and it speaks volumes for itself far better than I could articulate.

Please read the whole book to get the complete context: PG 40-41

Please don’t misunderstand.  I’m not saying it’s wrong to watch television, rent a DVD, surf the internet, or spend an evening at the cinema.  The hazard is thoughtless watching.  Glorifying God is an intentional pursuit. We don’t accidentally drift into holiness; rather we mature gradually and purposefully, one choice at a time.  In the Christian walk, we can’t just step onto the right path and figure all is well.  Christian discipleship is a lifelong journey consisting of a series of countless steps.  Each step matters, and thus our viewing habits matter.

A lifestyle of careless viewing should concern us.  At best, careless viewing reveals an ignorance of the media’s power of temptation.  It probably indicates a degree of laziness as well, and we can’t afford to be lazy in what our minds absorb.  Biblical discernment involves critical thinking, which often leads toward costly action.  It’s true that we grow in sanctification by God’s grace, but this doesn’t deny that our growth involves work.  To mature we need engaged minds asking biblically  informed questions about the media’s messages and methods.  What’s more we need perseverance to travel against the cultural current.

To change the metaphor, detecting and avoiding temptation is a battle; every time we pick up the remote or glance at the movie listings or go online, we take up arms.  Ken Myers describes this battle in strong terms.

I believe that the challenge of living with popular culture may well be as serious for modern Christians as persecutions or plagues were for the saints of the earlier centuries.  Enemies that come loudly and visibly are usually much easier to fight than those that are undetectable. “

It may seem that Myers exaggerates the danger.  Pop culture as deadly as persecution and plagues?  But I think he’s right.  When it comes to waging the war of sanctification, severe trial usually alerts us to the battle rousing us to our need for God.  Popular culture, especially entertainment media, often lulls us to ignore our battle with the flesh.

In this conflict, how many Christians are waving the white flag of surrender by disengaging their discernment when it comes to media?  But passively is no option.  We’re called to live life purposefully.  That means we must watch on purpose and resist the lifestyle of passive viewing.

Whew long quote, however the implications from Hebrews were to “remember how you endured sufferings.”  If we are lulled to sleep by our present Americanized living how can we keep our eyes on Christ?  How can we as my son suggest not shrink back or fall into the water as we are distracted by all the storms, as the world steals away our faith and our belief, our actions for the sake of the gospel.

I believe the answer was in the last sentence quoted in the book we must not only watch our media and resist a lifestyle of passive viewing, but we must resist a life style of passive Christianity!!!

This is our assurance that we are pro-actively seeking God, and not shrinking back!

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