Using Social Media For The Gospel

Well, I feel better about dressing down today, that's nice. So this is an interesting one, we're going to pray in just a second here, an interesting.

Gadgets, Gizmos, and the Changing Media Landscape

Talk.

Actually, I messed it up this morning when I was talking to Luke, I called it, what did.

I call it?

I called it GASMOS and GIDGETS. I was like, yeah, I think I'm doing GASMOS and GIDGETS. So I don't even know what that really means and how to do a talk on that. So I prepared something that I hope actually works with what I was asked to do.

This is an interesting one because I hope after last night's talk, combined with Doug's talk and then this talk, a lot of this will start making sense and we can start contextualizing it to our own personal experience and our own personal mission that God has called us.

To.

And I do want to say that I'm really, really excited about this particular conference and that we're talking about these things because I think Doug is exactly right. We're, I think, getting to that turning point where Christians are realizing, oh wait, hey, this works and oh my goodness, we're not like out of control now of the conversation.

It's really interesting, right?

I mean, I'll just, I'm going to go to this in my talk, but just to highlight this so you can be thinking about it in terms of the bigger picture, this last election is interesting. It highlighted a lot of interesting things.

I was, as I told you last night, I was in Australia and New Zealand and I thought I was going to get a break from the election stuff. So I was in Australia, New Zealand, about a week before the election day.

So I leave the United States to go to Australia, turn the TV on and every single channel, all they are talking about is Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I mean, it was every channel. It was obscene how much they were just obsessed with our election process.

And so that surprised me that it was all over the news. And one thing that was interesting about what I saw, and my daughter was with me, she was my little sidekick on that particular trip, one thing that I thought was interesting was how obscenely liberal the media was in Australia and New Zealand.

Worse, I thought in many respects to ours, at least in some respects, our media tries to pretend like they're not really, we're not really, really biased. Over there it was just blatant and just obscene liberal bias.

I mean, it was really fascinating to see it up front like that. And so one of the things I noticed in Australia was they were saying over and over and over again, no way Donald Trump will win. They kept going over the polls.

They said he's already lost.

It's over and done with.

Hillary Clinton, this poll, that poll, and Donald Trump. Who really thinks Donald Trump? I mean, come on, did we all understand what's happening here? Everyone understands what's happening. It's a joke.

I get home, election happens, and Donald Trump is our new president of the United States. Oh yeah, okay. And what was interesting about it was to see the reeling that took place a couple days.

Afterwards.

You guys know.

All the reeling.

How could we have gotten this so wrong?

How did this happen?

How did we not know?

Look at the polls. What happened?

All the polls went the other direction. How did this happen? And I was thinking the whole time, I know how it happened. How it happened is nobody's listening to you and nobody's really talking to you and you don't really understand what's going on because the internet media has provided us a way to get our information and to have our conversations apart from those who have dominated the conversation for so long.

People get their news now from independent news sources. What's that mean? They find a person that they find intriguing and intelligent, somebody that actually has an understanding that they think is qualified and what do they do?

They go to that person.

They go to them on YouTube.

They go to their podcast.

That's where they get their information. They can select who they get their information from. They can decide. It's not force fed to them. They don't have to listen to the narrative that is controlled by a large organization.

They can get their information elsewhere and they communicate elsewhere. I think what killed the last election from their perspective is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

Why?

Because the common folk could actually engage with one another and share articles and information in such a way as to essentially go under the major news organizations. So how did this take place? Why was it such an upset?

Why was it so confusing to them? Because God has provided a medium, a media to where we can share information in such a way as to change the conversation. We can control the conversation and that is something very, very important in Doug's right.

I think we're at the cusp of it now where Christians are finally going, wait a minute. Yeah, we can actually communicate the gospel, the biblical worldview. We can get the message of Jesus in the biblical worldview out across the world and into our own communities in a way that's really, really meaningful, that actually does do damage to the kingdom of darkness.

I mean, just consider for a moment, what's one of the fundamental things we believe about.

The gospel?

Romans 1 16, that it is the gospel that is the power of God for salvation. That is that message, the message of salvation, forgiveness, the authority of Jesus Christ, his work. That message goes out of our mouths, it comes out of our fingertips, it goes out into the.

World.

And the spirit of God empowers that message to bring dead people to life, to raise them to newness of life, to give them eyes that see, ears that hear, to change their hearts from stony hearts to fleshy hearts.

That's what God does with that message, right? And now we've been given an opportunity with all of these tools, all these resources that were given to the world by Jesus Christ for his glory and the good of his church.

We've been given these tools where we can actually communicate those truths of the gospel 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at the click of a button around the planets. Nobody is in control anymore, nobody's dominating it.

The Christian church can take ownership of this and actually start communicating in a way that is powerful. Consider for a moment this, we've complained and bickered for so long as Christians, you've seen the evangelical community, a lot of talk in Hollywood and the media elites and all the things that are coming into our children's eyes and ears.

We talk about what's on the radio and what's on cable, we talk about that a lot. It's a big topic of conversation. People that own the media, control the media, they control the narrative and they're the ones that are actually producing all of this content.

And why does it bother us so much? Well, I think there's a couple reasons, but number one, I think it bothers us because Christians largely, when they make actually movies and television, it's garbage.

It's garbage.

It's really, really terrible.

It's awful.

It's bad story, it's bad acting, bad cinematography, bad editing, it's garbage. Why does it bother us that Hollywood's putting out all this content and giving all our kids this stuff and it's just so awful and it's anti-Christian?

It bothers us because we know that really the best stories, the best cinematography, the best movie making is actually made by the unbelievers. We just don't like they're being fed their worldview in the midst of the higher quality.

Art.

And so that bothers us and it bothers us because we say things like, well, they're in control and they're the ones producing all the content and what do we have? We have this garbage, right? But we're in a position now as Christians, as the church, with these gadgets and gizmos.

Gadgets and gizmos where, guess what? Now we are not force fed that stuff unwillingly. Now we can actually produce content, movies, television. We can produce media that glorifies God, tells a better story, and we can do it in such a way that it has an impact and we can change the conversation.

So consider that as we get into this talk today, a little unusual talk for me, but consider all those benefits and tools and blessings as we move forward with the discussion on using them.

Let's pray.

Father, please bless the talk today. God, I just pray, Father, that you would allow me to speak in a way that blesses your church,.

Your people.

I just pray, God, that this would not just be just a talk that goes over many of our heads and we just listen and consider how interesting, but we don't really do anything.

About it.

I pray that, Lord, you would work, Lord, through the people that are in this room right now, that you work in their lives, and you would work through what's being filmed right now and that's gonna be sent around the world.

I pray that you would touch the hearts and minds of people, Lord, your people, that you would work in them in such a way as to empower us and to send us into the world to use these things for your glory, in Jesus' name, amen.

Jesus Is in Charge of Everything and the Myth of Neutrality

So I'm in a unique position right now because I have a typical way I like to do messages and talks, and that is talk as little about me and my experience as possible. I don't like to put myself into messages a lot, except where it's relevant, it might be an experience that's encouraging or blesses you, and so it's an awkward position because what I'm gonna talk about today in this is a lot about what God has done through our ministry, and so it's a bit awkward for me for preaching or teaching normally, and so there's a temptation, perhaps, when you listen to this talk, a temptation to believe that there's maybe some bragging going on, those sorts of things.

I wanna sort of highlight that for a moment and say the reason we're talking about some of these statistics and the things that I'll share with you from our own ministry is hopefully to give you some encouragement that a little church in Tempe, Arizona that started out of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, a hospital, from zero, with a lot of just drug addicts, some of them on detoxification medicine, most of them in halfway houses, that a church like that can produce content for the glory of God, and it could end up changing the world, literally, in many, many ways, and if God can do it through unworthy people like us, He can do it through His people.

He can empower you, He can bless it, and so I hope you're encouraged to engage, and hearing the things today as I give a couple of examples as to what God has used in our own ministry, I hope that it encourages you to engage the world with the gospel in a bold way, in a meaningful way.

So I wanna remind you first and foremost of the foundation, our context. I told you last night we have to orient ourselves to the context. What part of the story are we in? Well, I'm not gonna go over all of it again, but let me just say and highlight that a fundamental assertion is this, Jesus is in charge of everything.

Okay, let that hang for a second, and don't do the typical Christian, oh yes, amen, and give me the t-shirt, Jesus is in charge of everything, I wanna start getting the bumper stickers and putting it out, and it's one of those things Christians say, but we ask the question, do you really believe it?

Is that something we actually embrace, and we embody it in our lives, do we really believe that Jesus is in charge of everything? Do we believe that He's the boss of it? When you go out into the world and you see something, if it's a business, if it's a movie, if it's television, if it's art, if it's music, if it's politics, if it's education, if it's family, if it's church, when you see something in the world, do you say, He's the boss of.

It?

He's the boss of that, and there are ways where that has to be put under His feet. Do you do that? Do we do that? Do we actually look at something and we say, how can I put this under the feet of Jesus?

How can I influence this in such a way that it brings glory to Jesus Christ? Not just for me, but for 10 generations after me. Do we approach the world in that way? Because that's our context, because fundamentally the Bible teaches that Jesus wins.

He wins.

Not just at the end of history, He wins. Psalm 1101, I told you, I said so you can remember it, it's God's favorite Bible verse because it's the most quoted in the New Testament from the Old, Psalm 1101.

If you want a basis, if you want a place to camp out, to hang out, to put your roots down, to say, okay, this ought to give me my hope, this is what I'm going to go back to when I'm sore and I'm scared and I feel like there's disharmony around me, if you want a text, 1 Corinthians 15, that should be where you camp.

In that text, the Apostle Paul is telling you the story, God's story of history, where are we going, and what's he do? He quotes that famous passage, Psalm 1101, and he says that he must reign until all of his enemies are a footstool for his feet.

So that's where we're going right now. Enemies of God, footstool for God's feet, the Messiah's feet, and then what? The last enemy to be defeated is what?

Death.

So it's God's enemies under Jesus' feet, and then we have death defeated, and then the final judgment and the victorious return and that kingdom delivered over to the Father, that's our position in history right now.

So we look around and we say, okay, where are his enemies? Where are the things, where are the people who are opposed to this king? He's the boss of everything. He has all authority in heaven and on earth.

He's not just king over this invisible realm. He is king over the here, the now, this world that he's actually made, he's in charge of. Jesus is the boss of it. And so we look around and we say, where are his enemies?

Where are those who oppose his authority and his rule? Where are the people that say, you will not rule over us? And as Christians, we have to look into those areas and ask the question, how will this.

Be put under the feet of Jesus?

Well, we know the means, don't we? We know the means of how things get under the feet of Jesus. Well, it's through the gospel. It's through the work of his church, his bride, telling the world of his glorious salvation and rule.

We tell the world about salvation. We call people to repentance and faith. We know that's how that's done, but we think we broaden it. We have to start to consider now, well, we've got a world that in many ways is an enemy.

Of God.

It's in many ways opposed to God. How do we actually communicate that gospel? And we look around and we say, well, how is the world talking to each other? How are they talking to each other? How are they communicating?

Because believe me, they are communicating. We have to actually take a foundational thing. This is vitally important to get. It's so important to understand this and begin to live now as a Christian in light of it.

I mentioned it last night, but it is so important. The myth of neutrality. Nobody is neutral.

It's a myth.

Everybody has a particular worldview. Two things I want you to think about in terms of neutrality. Two things. First and foremost, neutrality is a myth biblically. What does God say in his word? Romans chapter one, verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness, what, suppress the truth.

That which is known about God is evident within them for God has made it evident to them.

What's that say?

That God has made himself evident, known to every single person.

Every person.

It's not a problem of light or evidence. It's a problem of suppression. They know the true and living God. It's not that they don't know the true God, not that they just know some God. They know the true God.

God has sent that message into the heart of every single image bearer that he has created. The problem is sinful suppression. In Romans one, Paul says what? He says very clearly that the MO of the human race is to switch God, the true God that they know, switch him for an idol.

And so that is what we do. Calvin said that the human heart is a natural idol making factory and it is never idol in producing idols. That's what we do. And so we switch God for idols. We become fools.

We profess to be wise and our thinking becomes futile. And what happens? In the switching of God for idols, we devolve. We break down.

We go against the created order.

We start worshiping the created things. We start engaging in disharmonious relationships with one another, with our parents. And then we know these things are evil, but what do we do? We know that those who do them deserve to die, but instead of repenting, we suppress and we applaud those who do these things.

Now if there's no greater description of American culture in the 21st century than Romans chapter one, I mean, it's right there on the page. That's what we're dealing with. And we think in terms of what the Bible says about neutrality.

It says they're not, and you're not supposed to be. What Jesus is saying, whoever's not with me is against me.

They know God.

They suppress the truth of God. They switch God for idols. They construct very complicated erudite systems to oppose God. They don't want him in their knowledge. They don't even want to know him. And what does it say in Romans five?

Paul says that all of humanity is in one of two representatives. You're either in Jesus or you are in Adam. And Paul says, if you're in Adam, there is death. There is condemnation. If you're in Jesus, there is the gift of eternal life and righteousness.

So all of humanity is covenantally bound to one of two representatives, Adam or Jesus. That's our context, no neutrality. So when we face the world, when we face their television, when we face their movies, when we face their stories, when we face their music, when we face their politics, we have to recognize they're not neutral and we're not supposed to be.

First thing, biblically speaking, neutrality is a myth. Second thing, philosophically speaking, neutrality is a myth. It's absurd to suggest that any of us are actually neutral when it comes to metaphysics, ontology, what is reality, the doctrine of being, what is all of this, what's the nature.

Of it.

It's absurd to suggest that we're neutral in any way when it comes to how we know what we know, a theory of knowledge. It's absurd to suggest that we're neutral ethically speaking. Everybody has a worldview.

Everybody has a particular perspective. We've all been affected. Now perhaps when it comes to worldview, many of us have actually had a dramatic change.

In worldview.

We thought one way, we were committed to it, we met Jesus, and then it flipped. Our heart changed, our mind changed, and we went through a pretty difficult process where we used to be a certain way, think a certain thing, and all of a sudden now with a new heart and new eyes, we don't want to be that anymore.

We don't want to think that anymore. And so what do we do? We go to the word of God, our minds are changed, our hearts are changed, and then we flip. We change. There's dramatic change. Sometimes there's those kinds of worldview shifts, but sometimes we adopt worldviews and we don't really think about it.

Sometimes we get it from our grandfather. Maybe that's a good thing in some cases because we're getting the word of God, but sometimes.

We don't think about it.

We got it from a science teacher. Sometimes in our culture, we get it from Lady Gaga, but believe me, it's an ethic. Is this an ethic that is neutral towards God? I was born that way? In terms of facing the issue of homosexuality in our culture, is Lady Gaga neutral when she says, I was born this way?

Not neutral.

How about when Macklemore sings a song that I tried my best to sing, I'm not a singer, okay?

It's for you.

Last night when he says, when the song says, I can't change even if I tried, even if I wanted to, is that neutral towards God? It's not neutral. It's an ethic. Everybody has a worldview. Everyone has a view of how they know what they know and how they should live their lives.

And here's the thing, ready?

Movies are preaching.

Television is preaching. Music is preaching. Books are preaching. Education is preaching. Everybody is preaching. Here's the thing, when Christians disengage from utilizing these tools, when Christians disengage from media, when they disengage from the news and movies and television and writing stories and education, it's not as though nobody is now imposing a worldview.

It means because we've disengaged, the world is doing the preaching. And so here's the sum of the message today, Christians. You need to preach. You need to start preaching. You must start using these tools to communicate the gospel and start preaching because us disengaging from the world has only allowed the world to begin to propagate and enforce their position.

Their position.

We recognize it instantly, don't we, in terms of education? I love the fact that not very long ago, there wasn't the kind of hostility towards public schools that there is now. I love that there's so much hostility to public schools today.

I think it's beautiful and it is wonderful.

Don't you love that recently when Betsy DeVos was put into her position?

Don't you love?

I thought it was spectacular that Betsy DeVos was put into her position and now all the secularists are going, well, we'll just homeschool.

I thought, win!

Hashtag winning, right? Kill the public schools, right?

Make them into, I don't know, turn them into something different. Turn them into paintball arenas, right? That's a fantastic use and they'll continue to make money that you can give to, trust me, they need to go away.

But I thought it was fantastic that now the liberals are going, uh-uh, if she's in charge, she's going to be communicating, oh, a worldview and I don't want my children to hear it. Now isn't that what Christians have been saying for a long time about the public schools?

Is that you're propagating an entire view of the world. You're telling people about history, you're telling people about science, you're telling people about literature and you're doing it apart from Jesus.

And that's why my kids aren't there. But don't we understand that the world is preaching and when we disengage from using these tools and doing it well, then the world steps in and they say, I'll take over from here and they begin to propagate an anti-Christian worldview.

It's time that Christians recognized that the meek shall inherit the earth. So recognizing that Jesus actually wins and he's putting his enemies under his feet. Final thing I'll say in this, this is important.

What's wrong?

What is it?

What's wrong? Is the gospel not the power of God for salvation? Was it in the first century? Was it then? Just some miraculous work of God that he just had in store for that generation and maybe a few moments throughout the history of the church.

Just these little moments where he sort of brings light and it pops and blows up and he goes, okay, I'll finish up later. I'm not really concerned any longer. Is that what the story is?

What is it?

Is it the gospel that's not the power of God for salvation? Is it the spirit of God who's no longer able to bring dead people to life? Is that what it is? Is God no longer interested in actually reconciling all things to himself?

Is God no longer interested in actually putting all things under the feet of Jesus? I don't believe that's the case. I think that if there's something wrong in the world, if the culture is in any way the report card of the church, if the culture is in any way the report card of the church, then that means that there is something in us, something that we're not doing, something about our faithfulness.

Now, mind you, we're all hardcore pipetting Calvinists, yes. I like how Doug says it, black coffee drinking, run your face over broken glass Calvinists. That's what we all are, right? I understand God is sovereign.

I understand his grace and he's the one that wields all of this.

I get it.

I get it.

His providence. We're in this position because he's the one that determined it. I understand that. But we all recognize as good Calvinists that God uses means. And oftentimes we are guilty in the midst of God's providential plan.

Amen? And so we have to start asking ourselves, well, what is it? If the culture is in any way a report card of the church, then how are we doing? What are we not doing? What should we be doing as a church?

And that's really what the gadgets and gizmos is all about. Think for a moment about the early church just quickly in terms of how the engagement.

Took place.

In the book of Acts, you won't get far into the book of Acts and you discover that the Christian church was focused inward, yes, focused on teaching, breaking bread, fellowship. We were focused very much on one another, loving God, loving each other, taking care of one another's needs.

Yes, that's a highlight moment in the book of Acts.

Of course.

But what else do you see in the book of Acts? You see a methodology of evangelism and cultural engagement that looks very, very different than the common form of engagement that we see today in North America.

What's the common form of engagement in North America? We see, well, the gospel of nice, right? How will you win the world? Well, be nice, right? If I'm nice to people, then I win them to Jesus.

Really?

Have you read the book of Acts, bro? The book of Acts, what do you see in the book of Acts? The book of Acts kicks off in its immediate engagement with the culture in such a way that it leads to, I don't know, a couple beatings and some stonings and people wanting to kill.

Paul.

Acts chapter 9, the apostle Paul's on his high horse, he's going to destroy the Christian.

Church.

He says in Galatians that he's so zealous that he tried to destroy the church. That's where he was at. And we see in the book of Acts that as soon as Jesus knocks him off his high horse and his eyes are open, what's he do?

He takes a beeline to Damascus, Acts 9. Takes a beeline to Damascus to do what? Well, he goes to earn the right to preach the gospel to them. He goes to create five year long friendships where maybe he'll earn the right to preach the gospel to them, right?

No?

He goes to tell them to live their best life now? He goes in Acts chapter 9 to do what? He goes to his beeline to Damascus and what's he do? He goes to the religious context and he argues with them for the sake of Jesus and the glory.

Of God.

He actually argues.

Yes, Christians arguing for the glory of God. Christians arguing.

What took place?

What was the result of the apostle Paul colliding with the culture of his day? The religious culture there in Acts 9. What's the result? It says that the church was built up. They experienced peace and they were multiplied and it says that some people wanted to kill.

Him.

They wanted him dead.

Right?

Now, oftentimes in our culture today, we see Christians engaging in such a way that it is with kindness and grace and boldness and people look in on that as Christians and say, oh, that's not how you win people.

That's not how you win people. Well, how do I know? Because they don't like you now. You see, they have to like you and that's how you know you're being like Jesus.

Right?

Because they like you.

But you see, in the Bible, we don't see that kind of engagement. We see an engagement that actually is truthful, that actually engages and collides, preaches the gospel and the results are the church is built up.

It expands and grows. People are added to the church. God is glorified. And then some people actually form pacts. I'm not going to eat until this sucker is dead.

Right?

Like, that's what it looks like.

I'm just trying to use the modern vernacular.

Okay? All right.

This is going out like to different places.

So that's what it looks like.

People actually communicate in such a way in the New Testament that it creates conflict.

And persecution.

They go into places and they preach the gospel, not being jerks, not in any way being like being unkind and hateful and mean spirited.

But they go in such ways they tell the truth.

And what happens when they tell the truth? A riot breaks out.

A riot breaks out.

Paul in Acts chapter 17 more than likely was being brought up on preliminary charges of.

The Areopagus.

They're not just saying, hey, let us know what you think. They're engaging in a sense of mockery. He goes to the place of highest philosophical debate and discussion. And he does what? He says that God commands you to repent.

God's not asking you to try Jesus out. God's not asking you to let Jesus into your little hearts.

Where is that anyways?

The gospel comes as a total system, full and total allegiance to Jesus Christ. God commands you to repent and believe. That's the kind of engagement you see. Where is that in our culture? Brothers and sisters, if you look in history, at these amazing moments where God has moved through the gospel and changed the course of history.

Where an entire nation turns to Jesus Christ. Where whole towns turn to Jesus Christ. When you see those moments, you can always find that the truth of the gospel was shared.

Full proof.

You can always see that it was a call to repentance and faith. It was a call to total allegiance to Jesus Christ. That's what you see. Now it's important to recognize that we often as Christians, when we use these tools, these gadgets and gizmos, and we have something like Facebook or YouTube or Twitter or Instagram or whatever the tool may be.

We think that it's persecution when we get befriended on Facebook.

What? Right?

I got a message from a sister in Christ a couple weeks ago.

And she said,.

Pastor Jeff, I've been so encouraged by all the work in the area of abortion. I've seen all these babies saved and all this ministry. And I finally decided I was going to finally say something in this area and try to communicate the truth.

And she says, and I'd said one thing on Facebook today and I got blasted. And I had people coming after me. I had people befriending me.