As I prepare to wrap up my sermon series entitled, “Is There Anything Right With the Church?” my intentions are to deflect attention from personalities, buildings and programs within the church and focus attention on our great foundation and life changing message. That’s what’s right with the church because it never gets old or changes or loses it’s power. Preachers and buildings come and go, but the “chief cornerstone” lasts forever.
Let’s talk a little about the unchanging message of Christ. The Apostle Paul refers to the message of the Christ as life changing to those who have embraced it. To those who mock Christ and try to marginalize the effects of the cross it is sheer foolishness to those who refuse to believe in the message behind the cross. - 1 Corinthians 1:21.
Paul, who once did everything he could to stomp out the message of Christ became a convert and proudly proclaimed, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation.”
Did you get that? Our message, the message of the church of Jesus Christ, has power! As I reflect on the condition of contemporary society today, I become more aware of this fact, there are a lot of conflicting and troubling messages coming from pop culture. Most of these messages are at best troubling, confusing, and conflict with the transcendent truths of God’s word. Hence, the grand moral dilemma is playing out every day through the media, shopping centers, the entertainment industry, educational institutions and major news outlets. With all of these avenues of corruption and false messaging, where does one go for truth and hope?
I thought you would never ask. Paul sends a clear message to us today and that is “The weapons of our warfare are not physical, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” II Corinthians 10:3-5
There are a number of strongholds that need to be brought under the authority of God in our society. Let’s face it, Satan has a full arsenal of empty arguments and false narratives at his disposal. Paul warns the church in Colossi to, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world., and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8
Folks, the secularist have been cheating society for a very long time. The false hope based on empty messaging has left society empty and defeated. Marc Thiessen, a syndicated columnist, recently wrote, “The disasters of the last two years have unleashed on this nation the worst inflation in 40 years, the worst decline in real wages in four decades, the highest gas prices ever recorded in the United States and the biggest annual rise in food prices since 1979. We are seeing the worst labor shortages in American history and the worst crime wave since the 1990’s.”
The point I am trying to drive home is this, we are getting a lot of messaging from our nation’s capital, but it’s built on the shifting sands of false hope and empty promises. As my dad used to say, “Long on promises- short on delivery.”
The modern progressives have created, not a world of optimism and contentment, but rather a world driven by fear and the highest level of anxiety among young adults we have ever seen. According to a recent poll conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics showed that “Gen Z” or “Zoomers” which is the demographic succeeding Millennials, feel more unsafe, lonelier, and more afraid than ever before. In fact, 47% of these 18–29-year-olds reported feeling down, depressed or hopeless. Nearly 27% of those polled stated they felt like either hurting themselves or thought they’d be better off dead.
How did a nation with such great potential and such a prosperous future, fall into this massive state of despair? Answer- Bad Messaging!! That’s right. The message and the narrative being circulated in our society today is geared toward hopelessness and despair. It is destined to fail because it leaves out the only hope for mankind and that is Jesus Christ.
Who is to blame for this “failure to communicate?” Well let’s rule out Jesus. He did His job and set the church up beautifully for success. Let’s rule out the first century church leaders. They not only contended for the faith, but preached it and lived it, and communicated it with great unction and consistency. That leaves us. The modern day church. We have permitted the power of God’s word to grow stale and silent on our watch. Paul compares the church of Christ and our message like a giant can of Lysol. II Corinthians 2:14-16 “Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.” Did you get that. The only message that leads to fulfillment and complete contentment is the message of Jesus. Did you hear that “Zoomers?”
Notice too that the message “diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” Yes, you read that correctly. The message of Christ is the only fragrance that can remove the stench coming from the theme parks, the halls of congress, school boards, department stores, and everything in between. Paul then reminds the body of Christ today, “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved.” Let’s not get stingy with our sweet message of hope and deliverance.
Chuck Colson in his book How Now Shall We Live reminds us, “Only Christianity offers a way to understand both the physical and the moral order. Only Christianity offers a comprehensive worldview that covers all areas of life. Only Christianity offers a way to live in line with the real world. But if Christians are going to carry this life-giving message to the world, we must first understand it and live it ourselves. We must understand that God’s revelation is the source of all truth, a comprehensive framework for all of reality.”
We have the Right Message, no doubt. And there is no better time to preach it and to live it out every day than the present!
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