As I pulled up in my driveway this last summer, I noticed that someone had stuck a piece of paper in the handle of our storm door. While I was at work a local company had inspected our yard and they left an analysis detailing the condition of our lawn and soil. Their analysis told me what grass types we had, our lawn’s turf density, our lawn’s color (ah, green… duh), the amount of thatch, our soil type, and its overall condition. They detailed the various lawn diseases they discovered in our yard. They listed the numerous types of weeds and problem grasses that were thriving in our yard. We had dandelions, chickweed, plantain, henbit, clover, ground ivy, oxalis, thistle, violets, crabgrass, and foxtail.
They listed the types of destructive insects that had taken up residence undetected just beneath the surface of our grass. They told me how I should mow my lawn and that the way I had been mowing was weakening the density and health of my grass. They critiqued how poorly I had been watering our lawn. They analyzed how much shade we had. They even assessed our trees and shrubs.
My favorite part of the analysis was the part where they told me our lawn had excellent potential. My least favorite part wasthat they told me my lawn was mediocre, and that I hadbetter do something about it! After reviewing their findings it was like a whole new world had opened up. At first I tried to dismiss their analysis. "They're just trying to make money. They don’t really care about my lawn. They're exaggerating!" But the next time I mowed my lawn I discovered that they hadn’t exaggerated. There were weeds everywhere and they were choking out the grass. Grubs were chewing up entire sections of our lawn and there were these brown spots and bald spots where there was no grass at all!
For days I couldn’t sleep. I stopped eating. I lost weight. I chewed my fingernails down to their nubs. I was full of anxiety and I was so self-conscious. Every time I saw my neighbors standing in their yards talking over the fence, I became paranoid and believed they were talking about my lawn. The guilt was overwhelming. I was failing as a homeowner. My lawn was a disgrace. How could I ever invite people to our weed-infested home again?
Finally I decided to make the call that forever changed our lawn. I called up that company and said, "Help! "Now I get fourteen hours of sleep every night, I have my appetite back, and my fingernails have grown back. Life couldn’t be better!
Just now I want you to envision yourself pulling into your driveway. You are a homeowner. You notice a piece of paper in your storm door. You read every word with great concern. You discover that you have been neglecting something of major importance. At first you don’t think much about it. You have other priorities. But with time, you reach a point where you find yourself thinking about it all the time. Finally you make the critical decision and say to yourself, "I’ve got to make the call. This has to change. I can stand it no longer."
House managers.
When God describes our obligation with the gifts he has entrusted to us he is essentially saying, "You are a steward. You are a house manager." Over the past few weeks we have talked about being good stewards of our time, our physical bodies, our possessions, our money, our spiritual gifts, and our children. These gifts are all part of the spiritual house God has called on us to manage. This is a spiritual house that we must one day give an account of our management for. This message this morning is meant to be the paper in the storm door of your spiritual house that calls attention to a common area of neglect; namely, our stewardship of the gospel message.
Of all the gifts God has entrusted us with, the gospel is by far the most neglected. We think a lot about time management. We think about our bodies and our health. Our possessions, money, and children are a point of constant conversation. Our spiritual gifts and ministry are spoken of less frequently. But it is very rare that we even mention our stewardship of the gospel of Christ.
What is the gospel?
In fact, a common question people ask is, "What is the gospel?" And their very next question is, "Why should I care? Why should I lose sleep over it?" Well, the answer to the first question is simple. Gospel means "good news." In this case, the gospel has to do with the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news is that through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, we can be forgiven. The good news is that we have hope through Jesus’ resurrection from death. The good news is that through faith, God’s Holy Spirit can dwell in us and transform us and renew us and purify us.
Concerning this gospel Paul says in Colossians 1:25-26 (NIV), "I have become its servant by the commission (trust, stewardship) God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints."
Why should I care?
The answer to the question about why you should care is also simple. As the World Trade Center towers fell we witnessed an unspeakable evil. In recent weeks the evil men who caused that act have celebrated, they have laughed, they have danced in their streets, they have mocked us, they have threatened more violence, and they continue to incite new acts of violence. The word bloodthirsty has been given new meaning. Taking six thousand lives means nothing to these people. Killing women and children means nothing. Killing innocents doesn’t even prick their consciences. They extort money to fund their terrorism. Another way they raise money for their evil is by telling Muslims that they are collecting money for hungry children. The most warped fiction writer could not even come close to dreaming up a character who so embodies everything that evil stands for.
And now our nation is now on a crusade to purge the world of this evil with military power, human intelligence, and the freezing of financial funds. We are going to leave no stone unturned in our crusade against evil. But the deeper question must be asked. "What is the best way to purge our world of evil, and especially the most extreme embodiments of that evil?"
Parable of the weeds.
In Matthew 13:24-30 (NIV) Jesus tells the little known parable of the weeds. "Jesus told them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? ''An enemy did this,' he replied. The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up? ''No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
One way we often attempt to rid our world of evil is by pulling weeds. Just think about how messy and how ineffective this can potentially be! In uprooting evil by way of weed pulling, collateral damage is inevitable. And not just physically speaking, but also spiritually and eternally. And as one Jewish rabbi so brilliantly asked, "Where do we stop?" His point was that the line of evil runs in every heart, in your heart and mine, and not just between America and terrorism. There is no simple way to purge our world of evil. As the experts have been saying, this is not exactly going to be a conventional war. It will require unconventional means.
In Jesus' parable of the weeds he indicates that there is another way to dispel evil. Jesus mentions that the kingdom of God is like the man who sowed good seed. This man faithfully sowed good seed in his field, even in the face of evil enemies. Moments earlier Jesus tells us what this good seed is when he tells the parable of the sower. The good seed is the word of God. The good seed is the message of God’s kingdom. The good seed is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is the gospel! By way of illustration Jesus is saying, "The evil one will continue to do his work among you. The evil one will continue to sow his seeds of death, fear, and destruction. But you keep on sowing the good seed. Remain faithful!"
Dispelling evil by sowing the gospel.
This last year I asked some questions and learned some interesting facts. I found out that the most effective strategy for removing weeds is not by pulling weeds out by their roots. The most effective strategy is sowing grass seed. The most effective strategy for removing weeds is by nourishing the grass. The grass that has already been planted should be fertilized and over seeded and nourished to its full health. Thick, dense, healthy grass will choke out and prevent weed growth all by itself.
So I am watching CNN and someone phones in and voices his opinion. The person says, "Religion is the cause of all this chaos, not the solution." Wednesday night on "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher, a guest voiced the same opinion. He kept citing all the violence religion has "caused." He mentioned that Hitler was a Lutheran and that Bin Laden is Muslim. Bill Maher was gleefully allowing this blasphemous guest to malign the cause of Christ.
What Jesus' parable teaches us is that evil thrives wherever the gospel isn’t sown. We ban all dialogue about Christ from our schools, and we have unprecedented violence. We see drug abuse, theft, murder, and sexual immorality. The ACLU is taking action because a school has "God Bless America" on its sign. We stop sowing the seed of the gospel in our families and the next thing we know, our kids are behaving in ways and making choices that we never imagined. And where are these terrorist networks being cultivated? They are being cultivated in Christ-less cultures. These are cultures where the gospel has never been allowed to penetrate, and cultures where Christians have been reluctant to sow the gospel seed.
Christianity, the untried solution.
It isn’t so much that Christianity is the cause or source of such evil as much as it's that Christianity has never been given a chance! Our faith, the gospel seed, is not being sown with zeal in the dark evil recesses of our world! Instead, all too often we are passively holding on to the message of life! It was C. K. Chesterton who said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried."
Christianity has the power to substantively change our world for the better. Think of all the ineffective ways we try to purge evil in our culture. There is the bully pulpit where we coerce our enemies into submission. There are local, state, federal, and international laws that seek to articulate and inform citizens about what is good and what is evil. We just need more laws! We have the whole political correctness movement where we try to change people’s hearts by changing the way they speak toand describe others. We have the tolerance movement where we normalize as many immoral behaviors as we can stomach and then label those who don’t comply as bigots. We have our whole education system that believes knowledge is power. They believe that if people only knew enough, their lives would be transformed and changed.
The list goes on indefinitely. But the lesson is that we cannot change people from the outside-in. Instead, they must be renewed from the inside-out. The most effective strategy against evil at home and abroad is to be faithful stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The power of the gospel is more powerful than an evil person or network. The light of the gospel has enough lumens to completely dispel all darkness.
What we have learned since September11, 2001 is that of all the gifts God has given which he has asked us to leverage for his glory, the stewardship of the gospel is the most important. If we fail to be faithful stewards of the gospel then every good gift God has given us is at risk to the evil one who continually sows seeds in our lives. If you don’t sow the seed of the gospel your children will grow up in an evil culture that is harassed and helpless in the face of evil men. If you don’t sow the seed of the gospel, your money and possessions, indeed your very life is at risk in a world where evil men sow seeds of destruction.
Faithful stewards of the gospel.
The scriptures tell us that God has given us the words of life, the gospel! We must faithfully proclaim this message to the world. We must spread this seed broadly and zealously and fearlessly and without hesitation. There is just too much at stake in remaining silent, in remaining passive.
Our world, our field, our yard, is full of weeds. Only the gospel can change that. What will you do? Will you join the gospel cause? Will you get on board with God’s work and his kingdom? Will you leverage every gift for his purposes? Will you be a soldier? Will you march forward with the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the word of God, and the breastplate of righteousness? Will you discover the gospel for yourself and spread it to the world?