What Kind of World Are Our Words Creating?

What Kind of World Are Our Words Creating?

(Preaching Outline)

1)      What kind of world are our words creating?  We will visit that question at the end of this message.

a)      I want to begin with a challenging statement that Rabbi Sacks highlights in his commentary on Deuteronomy:

b)      The Talmud states that when we leave this life and arrive at the World to Come, the first question we will be asked will not be a conventionally religious one: “Did you set aside times for learning Torah?” Rather, it will be: “Did you act honestly in business?”[1]

c)      He is highlighting an important conviction that develops as a person becomes immersed in all of scripture.

d)      One of the problems we have is that Christianity often focuses so much on the New Testament that we lose the context and end up missing the target.

e)      Jesus said:  Matthew 13:52 (NKJV) — 52 (Then He said to them,) “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

f)        (Holman Bible Dictionary) – SCRIBE Person trained in writing skills and used to record events and decisions. During the exile in Babylon educated scribes apparently became the experts in God’s written word, copying, preserving, and teaching it. Ezra was a scribe in this sense of expert in teaching God’s word. A professional group of such scribes developed by NT times, most being Pharisees. They interpreted the law, taught it to disciples, and were experts in cases where people were accused of breaking the law of Moses. ^[2]

g)      The liberty, human dignity and blessings of Western Civilization are a direct result of this!!!

h)      Here is the passage that inspired such a conviction in the Rabbis: Isaiah 1:21–23 (NKJV) — 21 How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers. 22 Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. 23 Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

i)        Isaiah’s warning is as timely now as it was twenty-seven centuries ago. When morality is missing and economics and politics are driven by self-interest alone, trust fails and society’s fabric unravels. That is how all great civilizations began their decline, and there is no exception.[3]

j)        Biblical vs. non-biblical spirituality

k)      When the form becomes the objective rather than the means to the objective.

l)        Matthew 6:5 (NKJV) — 5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

2)      A question I have been exploring personally is: “What happens when we implement wrong solutions to problems?”

a)      False messianic movements

b)      Can be well intentioned and even Christian – eg. Pilgrimages

c)      When the word of the Lord is rare. – why we need scribes instructed in the Kingdom.

d)      Here are some examples I have been exploring (they require complex discussion not simple answers):

i)        The church is not having the transformative impact on culture as it has in the past or is described in scripture.

ii)      The children of believers falling away in college.

iii)     Many believers not involved in a local church.

iv)     The church suffering from leaders falling into sin.

e)      This message is part of a discussion on the first one.  In fact, all of the others could be categorized as part of that same discussion.

3)      The vision

a)      Isaiah 2:2–4 (NKJV) — 2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

b)      Zechariah 2:1–5 (NKJV) — 1 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” 3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4 who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. 5 For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”

c)      Isaiah 58:5–12 (NKJV) — 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

4)      The vision begins to become a reality in Acts:

a)      Acts 15:12–18, 21 (NKJV) — 12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. 13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.’ 18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works. … 21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

5)      What kind of world are our Words creating?

a)      When we implement the right solutions to problems because they informed by the word of God and led by the Spirit of God.