Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Understanding the Secular Culture

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Understanding the Secular Culture · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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As I travel around the world, the biggest concern
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on Christians' minds today is their kids and
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their grandkids. Many of them have already left
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the church. Others are in the process of questioning
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or deconstructing their faith. Today, we're going
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to begin talking about how to reach this lost
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generation with the undeniable truth of the gospel.
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Stay with us. There is hope. I'm Dave Drewy,
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and this is Living on the Edge. Our regular Bible
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teacher, Chip Ingram, is stepping aside today
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for a good friend of his, guest teacher Aaron
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Pierce. Aaron leads a global ministry called
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Steiger International, spending decades reaching
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secular, non -religious young people all over
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the world with the gospel. This week, he's helping
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Chip kick off a series called Caring Enough to
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Connect, building bridges to those we love. And
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today we're unpacking just how much our culture
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has changed and why the next generation you love
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is not beyond God's reach. Now here's our guest
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teacher, Aaron Pierce, with a message titled,
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Understanding the Secular Culture. How do we
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engage secular young people in particular who
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would not walk into a church? All right, so I
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want to start by sharing a story about a girl
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called Sarah. Sarah was wearing this... rainbow
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-colored Resist t -shirt with an equal sign on
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it. And she was at a pro -choice rally. And she
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was there with her friends Charlie and Ann. That's
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not their real names. Each of them identified
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as gender non -binary or non -conforming fluid.
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And they're active in a local drag queen scene.
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which sounds crazy and out there, but here's
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the thing to understand. Those that identify
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as LGBTQ is exploding in growth, especially amongst
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younger generations. Gallup recently came out
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and said that 20 .8 % of Gen Z identified as
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LGBTQ in 2021, 20 .8%, one in five. That's up
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from 10%. for millennial. So it's growing and
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there's a bunch of reasons for that. And that's
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something we'll talk about when we get to that
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topic at the end. But the interesting thing about
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this story, the atmosphere is super intense,
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right? As you might imagine, right? Because you've
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got this protest atmosphere. And of course, there's
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the pro -life group that's there and angry shouts
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are being exchanged between these two groups.
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And our team led by Felipe was there. Of course,
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each of them had a pro -life view, but they were
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there to build redemptive relationships. And
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so they had a sign that would spark a conversation
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with people. So they walked around and just prayed
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and asked the Lord, hey, would you show me who
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to connect with? And they found a group of people
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sitting down and they brought their sign and
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they began to ask them questions. And as they
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were doing that, they realized that behind the
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anger and the hostility, there was a lot of hurt
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and pain. Each of them, each of these three people,
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Sarah, Ann, and Charlie, each of them shared
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vulnerable, raw, and deeply personal stories
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of pain that they'd experienced growing up. It
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was amazing how open they were. And a lot of
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their pain related back to experiences that they
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had with the church. And what's interesting is
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that beneath their seemingly intense moral convictions,
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it was clear that they were actually very confused
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and broken. And they were longing for deep relational
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connection and belonging. And so as the conversation
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progressed, Felipe and his team began to share.
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And they shared that their pain actually mattered.
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As a follower of Jesus, Felipe believed that
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the answer to our problems was not actually political,
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but spiritual. And he explained that God was
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not indifferent to our suffering. A lot of people
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have this view that if God does exist, he's indifferent.
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And he explained that God is not indifferent
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to our suffering and that Jesus' death on the
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cross was proof of that. At the end of the conversation,
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they were able to pray with these three people.
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They were visibly moved and eagerly exchanged
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contact information and have stayed in contact
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since then. Now, here's the thing. There are
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millions of people like Sarah, Charlie, and Ann
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in the U .S. today. There's millions of them.
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Over the last few decades, we have experienced
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a profound cultural shift. Despite all its flaws
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and hypocrisy, for generations, the U .S. was
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a Christian nation, right? As recently as 1990,
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86 % of Americans identified as a Christian.
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And of course, they weren't all committed followers
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of Jesus. Many of them showed up to church only
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on Easter and Christmas, and they lived lives
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that were inconsistent with their Christian beliefs.
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But still, they viewed Christianity positively.
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You know, the church was the center of social
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life. The Bible was a good moral guide. The president
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was prayed over by a pastor in every inauguration.
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By the way, from someone that doesn't live in
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the U .S., that's weird. I like to understand
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that's a weird thing. And Christian ethics of
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sexuality were broadly accepted. And these are
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the people that would attend evangelistic rallies
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made famous by Billy Graham and Louis Palau and
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others, right? And they would draw unfavorable
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views of the church. These preachers could fill
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stadiums and make arguments using the Bible as
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an authority. But times have changed, right?
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We now live in a post -Christian culture and
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many people have walked away from the church.
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So according to Pew Research, the fastest growing
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religious group, in America is the religiously
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unaffiliated. In 2021, this group known as the
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nuns constituted about 29 % of American adults,
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and that's up from about 23 % in 2016 and 19
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% in 2011. That's a radical change happening
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in our culture. And this is most pronounced among
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millennial and Gen Z generations, making up approximately
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45 % of those two generations. And so not only
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has affiliation with Christianity declined, but
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attitude has changed as well. So if you were
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to take a look at the church and how people view
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the church today, you're going to see it play
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out in a few ways, right? So on one side, you
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have committed followers of Jesus who strive
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to live their lives in alignment with the Bible
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on the far left side of the spectrum. Next, you
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have people who have a positive view of the church.
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They see the Bible as a moral guide, but it's
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often detached from a personal relationship with
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God. And then as we move along the spectrum,
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you have those who are apathetic. Here, people
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are not consciously rejecting God. They just
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don't think about him one way or the other, right?
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And then finally, we have those who have a negative
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or even hostile view of the church. And they
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see the church as a symbol of the repression
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and bigotry. And so unfortunately, more and more
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Americans are moving to the right side of the
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spectrum, having an apathetic view of the church.
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And so that's what we've seen. in the last 30
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years, especially amongst millennial and Gen
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Z generation. We've seen a shift. And the right
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side of the spectrum is that post -Christian
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shift, right? Those on the far right side. The
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challenge for us in the church is that the majority
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of our efforts to reach people have been geared
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towards the nominal, right? And so what that
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means is that we use kind of a come and see and
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bring your friend style of evangelism. to a church
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event. And those aren't necessarily bad things
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to do because they connect well with people on
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that side of the spectrum. The challenge is it's
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a diminishing group. And so the challenge is
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that we need to go after those on the right side,
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and it takes an entirely different paradigm shift
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to do it. And this is not just a trend or a statistic.
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This isn't just an idea out there. This is deeply
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personal for many of us because these are our
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sons and daughters. These are our grandkids.
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These are friends and people that we work with.
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So how can we respond to this post -Christian
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shift? Part of that is we need to understand
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the culture that we're in and continue to look
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at it from different ways. Another way to look
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at it is from a Christian's spectrum and how
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it progresses. Okay, so this is what's happening
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a lot in our culture. You start with people that
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have convictional Christianity. Like I said,
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they are following Jesus, fully aligning their
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lives to it. Then you have cultural Christians,
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people that just have a nominal kind of view
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of it. They have a positive view, but it doesn't
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affect their life. Then you have progressive
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Christians, people that still identify as a Christian,
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but no longer hold to the authority of the Bible
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and begin to basically shape their faith according
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to how they want to see reality. And then you've
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got post -Christian. which is the natural shift
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that happens. Once someone engages in progressive
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Christianity, they take away the power and eventually
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they move to post -Christian. And then finally
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you have non -Christian, which is actually someone
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that hasn't rejected the church. They don't even
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really know about it. What's interesting is more
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and more young people in our country today actually
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fit in the non -Christian category because it
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was their parents that rejected the church. And
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so they essentially grew up in a non -Christian
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home. So when you're engaging people out in the
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world, you actually find that they fit in one
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of these categories and that the way you engage
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them is different. And often what you find is
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the progressive and the post -Christian are the
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most hostile and the hardest to reach because
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of the baggage that they bring to the table,
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because of their experience that they've had
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with the church for whatever reason. And so we
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have to take a new approach because the truth
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is people are actually quite hungry and open,
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but we can't take the same approach that we did
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in the past. Essentially, if we're going to engage
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this generation, if we're going to engage this
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culture, we've got to become like cross -cultural
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missionaries in our own city to our own people.
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That's the way we've got to approach engaging
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this culture. If I were called to be a missionary
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in China, I would learn the language, right,
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of the place I'm going to. I would figure out,
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you know, learn the culture, the history, the
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philosophies, the influences. I would understand
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the felt need of the Chinese people. And I would
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figure out how to contextualize the gospel in
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a way that they can understand. That's what I
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would do if I would engage in classic cross -cultural
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missions. And the same principle applies today
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if we're going to reach a post -Christian culture.
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Same principle. So that's what we want to talk
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about is how do we adopt a missionary mindset
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when we're engaging post -Christian cultures?
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So first of all, in order to effectively communicate
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the gospel to a post -Christian culture, we need
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to understand three key realities. The first
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is that secular people have become suspicious
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of religious institutions and are far less likely
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to walk into a church. So trust and confidence
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in organized religion has plummeted in the last
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few decades. In 2021, only 37 % of Americans
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reported confidence in religious institutions.
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That was 60 % in 2001. And it's not just religious
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institutions that have lost trust. It's basically
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all institutions, right? We've lost trust in
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the government, in corporations. There's just
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a general distrust of institutions. And certainly,
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that has affected the church. And that affects
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the way that we engage culture. In fact, one
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of the key ways it affects is that when we're
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out in the world, engaging culture, whether it's
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in an intentional outreach or just organically
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through our relationships, we don't actually
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want to be a representative of our church. We
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want to be a follower of Jesus. Because the fact
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is, if I'm a representative of my church, And
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we are like, this is not saying we shouldn't
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be engaged and committed to the local church.
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It's not what that's about. What it means is
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that that's putting up an extra barrier when
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I'm communicating, because now I'm talking about
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institutional religion versus just following
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Jesus. So that's the first thing we need to understand.
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Second thing we need to understand is the second
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key reality is secular people today do not have
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the same assumptions as previous generations.
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And they don't have the same assumptions about
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morality, truth, authority of the Bible, existence
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and nature of God. And so, for example, if I
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would go to the University of Minnesota and ask
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a random average secular university student,
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if I was to go up to him and say, hey, if you
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were to die today and stand before God in heaven
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and he were to judge your life, would he let
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you win? Well, I've just presupposed a whole
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bunch of things, right, that the average secular
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young person doesn't hold to be true. And so
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we have to recognize that secular people don't
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have the same assumptions from which we build.
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And we're going to talk about how do we communicate
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effectively. And the key principle in communication
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is understanding people's assumptions. And so
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the assumptions are not the same today as they
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were in previous generations. key reality that
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we need to understand is that despite all of
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this, secular people are open to spirituality.
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They are. And while many people no longer hold
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to a biblical worldview, most are not cold atheists
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either, right? They believe in some form of spirituality,
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even if it's vague and undefined. Give you an
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example of this. We did a series of focus groups
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with secular young people. And this is one of
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the quotes from one of the young women that participated
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in the focus group in her early 20s. And when
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we discussed spirituality, this was one of her
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quotes. Said, I'm agnostic, so I don't know.
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But when I personally think about my own experiences
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of spirituality, it's a feeling for me. Maybe
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it's not a being or a person, probably not. But
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I think that there are human experiences when
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you feel it, like when you hold a newborn baby,
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it's common experiences and they're ordinary
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and really simple. But I think there's energy.
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Yeah, like there's a force that lives. This is
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a really interesting quote to me because it perfectly
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illustrates that idea of being drawn to something
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spiritual, even as we reject kind of the religious
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and the institutional version of that. And people
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in this culture are very into meditation and
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kind of Eastern religious ideas. And a lot of
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that is because it's spirituality without accountability,
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right? You get the spirituality without the authority
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over me. And so that's a key thing to understand.
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And so all of these things, these key realities
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are important because if we're going to be good
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missionaries to our culture, we need to understand
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the context that we're in. And we need to understand
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what's shaping and influencing the culture as
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well. Now, the post -Christian shift that we've
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experienced in our culture can be traced actually
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all the way back to philosophers of the Enlightenment.
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But it's actually been like it exploded into
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mainstream culture through the global youth culture.
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That is really what shaped and taken it into
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the mainstream. And we live in a time of unprecedented
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connectedness, right? Where through mass media,
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the Internet and all sorts of other ways, we
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are connected like never before. And so you have
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this global youth culture where young people
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all over the planet are influenced by similar
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voices. So they're playing the same video games.
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They're listening to the same music. They're
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following the same social media influencers.
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And so they're connected and similar like never
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before. And they're similar on superficial things
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like fashion and music trends and things of that
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nature. But they're also similar on deeper things
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like worldview and morality and lifestyle. And
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so you have this global culture. That that is
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incredibly connected and it's shaping the way
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that young people all over the planet see the
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world. So let's take a look at this as an example.
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All right. If you take a look at those guys and
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based on how they look and where they're from,
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where you think they're from. I mean, these kids
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look like they could be at a coffee shop down
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the road. And the truth is they're from Beirut,
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Lebanon and the heart of the Middle East. Right.
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And so you have this global youth culture that
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that is shaping the way people view the world.
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So what are the influences of the global youth
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culture? Well, there's basically four key influences.
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First is entertainment industry. So music, film,
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theater, even sports to some degree. And the
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idea here is that we're not just entertaining,
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we're shaping a worldview. We're presenting a
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way of looking at the world, a moral framework.
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And so you see that being pushed to the entertainment
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industry. And then you've got Internet stars,
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you know, people that are on platforms like TikTok
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and Instagram and YouTube that are producing
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content and connecting with audiences all over
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the world in a massive way. Right. It's incredible
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the kind of influence that these people are having
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in the I say unfiltered because it is filtered,
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but there's no corporation. There's no intermediary
18:03
between the creators and their audience. Right.
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So it's an incredible influence that we have
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through these Internet stars. And then you've
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got video games, which is massive, bigger than
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Hollywood, where the average 21 year old male
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has spent 10 ,000 hours playing video games,
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which is, by the way, the same amount of time
18:23
that you need to master a fine art. Right. So
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it's an incredible amount of time being spent
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in video games. It's where we find our community,
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our identity, our sense of accomplishment. And
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so you have this incredible influence of video
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games. And then finally, you've got pornography,
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which is so common, so pervasive. It's not even
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something to be ashamed of. Talk openly about
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pornography, the belief that there's no consequence
18:53
to viewing pornography. And it comes to a view
18:57
that sexuality is just a personal pursuit of
19:00
happiness. And pornography is harmless. And so
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this is literally rewiring our brains and distorting
19:09
our view of love and sexuality and relationships.
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And all of these things come together to influence
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and shape a worldview. And they all kind of mix
19:20
together. And what's interesting is they are
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not constrained by geographic or political boundaries.
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These things transcend that. In fact, these things
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are shaping a worldview far more than politics,
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far more than laws. There's a guy called Andrew
19:37
Fletcher, an 18th century Scottish writer and
19:39
politician, at least that said, let me make the
19:43
songs of a nation and I care not who makes its
19:46
laws. And so what's really driving and shaping
19:49
our culture today is not the legal process. It's
19:52
the cultural influencers, the artists, the poets,
19:56
the philosophers that are shaping the worldview.
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All right, so what are the philosophical pillars?
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First one is secularism. So I've already alluded
20:05
to this, but the idea here is that people are
20:07
not necessarily atheist. They just believe that
20:10
faith is private. So you can believe whatever
20:14
you want to believe so long as you don't push
20:16
that on other people, right? That's the secular
20:20
mindset. Faith is private. Faith is not something
20:23
to be brought out into the public. And then,
20:26
of course, that naturally leads to relativism,
20:28
that there is no absolute moral truth, that morality
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is about preference, that you have your favorites,
20:36
I have mine. It's like an ice cream flavor. Right.
20:39
And so you have this relativistic mindset. And
20:42
then that leads to the idea and the value of
20:45
acceptance. But then actually tolerance is not
20:50
enough. You must affirm. And so it's based on
20:54
the idea of being open minded. And it's based
20:57
on the this kind of like authenticity and inclusion.
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But it's a paradox. Right. Because basically
21:04
it's inclusion for all except the exclusive.
21:08
And so that's the paradox that we find ourselves
21:11
in, where to tolerate someone, to love someone
21:14
is not enough. We must actually affirm that the
21:17
way that they live their life. That is the message
21:19
that you're going to hear in the global youth
21:20
culture. And what's interesting is all of these
21:23
things in some way are just a twist on biblical
21:26
truth. A lot of these things find their grounding
21:29
truth and then they're twisted. And it's interesting
21:32
because in the post -Christian culture that we
21:35
live, we're still very much influenced by a biblical
21:39
worldview, even if we've divorced ourselves from
21:42
that, right? So we are the fight for justice,
21:46
even if it's twisted, like even those that are
21:48
pro -choice, it's based on a framework of morality
21:52
for them of protecting women, right? So it's
21:55
a moral framework that they're drawing on. And
21:59
that moral framework ultimately comes from a
22:02
biblical worldview, which is there is a transcendent
22:05
moral framework. And so it's really interesting
22:08
to give you an example of this kind of post -Christian
22:10
divorcing of the biblical worldview. A while
22:15
back, I was at a caribou right around here, and
22:17
the barista had a pin on her shirt that said,
22:20
be human -centered. And so I asked her, I like,
22:24
that sounds interesting. So I said, what does
22:26
that pin mean? And she looked at me, said, oh,
22:28
well, it means, you know, treat other people
22:30
like you want to be treated and consider other
22:33
people's needs above your own. And I listened
22:36
to her say that. I was like, wow, that's awesome.
22:38
Like, where did you, where are those ideas? Where
22:40
did that come from? And she looked at me kind
22:42
of confused and she pointed at the pin. You know,
22:45
this is where these ideas are coming from. And
22:47
so it's so crazy because here she is literally
22:49
quoting scripture. But she's completely divorced
22:54
herself from that. That perfectly illustrates
22:56
that post -Christian shift where we still hold
23:01
to a biblical framework, but we've divorced ourselves
23:03
from that. Which, by the way, is an incredible
23:06
opportunity because people connect with biblical
23:09
truth, even if they no longer hold that as an
23:12
authority in their life. What I want to do now
23:16
is I want to show you a video of some people
23:19
being interviewed on the streets of the University
23:22
of Minnesota. And we basically asked them four
23:25
big worldview questions. The first is origin.
23:28
Where did life come from? How did life begin?
23:31
The second is morality. What is right and wrong
23:35
and who decides? The third is purpose. What is
23:38
the purpose of life? And the last is destiny.
23:41
What happens after we die? The way that you answer
23:46
those four questions, that essentially is your
23:49
worldview. And so let's take a look how these
23:52
young people answer those questions. How do you
23:58
think we all got here? How did life begin? It
24:03
started with the Big Bang. I don't really know
24:09
much more than that. So I believe in evolution
24:14
and that we evolved from primates. I mean, there's
24:17
proof that our DNA is 98 % the same as chimpanzees.
24:22
Probably just like a meteoroid with like some
24:25
microbes on it that landed on Earth from a different
24:28
planet and they're like eventually evolved to
24:31
become humans. What is the purpose of life? Let
24:37
me know when you figure it out. I'm still working
24:41
on that one. Make your own. Like, I don't think
24:44
there's no, like, grand purpose for anybody.
24:45
Just, like, f***ing everyone. It's just, there
24:49
is no purpose. Make up your own purpose. F***ing
24:51
run with it. Help continue the evolution of human
24:54
beings as a species. So how do you think that
24:58
right and wrong are decided? Oh, I don't know.
25:04
I think it's different for... like everyone depending
25:10
on like what they think is right and wrong because
25:13
like people believe in different things so it
25:16
can't be the same for everyone that goes back
25:18
to like your morals I guess it like because your
25:21
right can be someone else's wrong so it's all
25:25
like based on your morality I get I take it I
25:28
think that like It depends on yourself and what
25:33
you think is right and wrong and what you believe
25:35
in. And as long as you stick to your beliefs
25:38
and like carry out what the Bible says or what
25:41
the Quran says or like whatever, then like you're
25:44
living your life to the fullest and that's all
25:46
that matters. What do you think happens after
25:49
we die? I don't know. I mean, isn't that kind
26:00
of the beauty of it? You know, there's a lot
26:03
of people who are spiritual and have things in
26:05
which they believe in. And so it's kind of a
26:07
manifest of what you believe. I also feel like
26:11
that is subjective because no one knows. And
26:14
so I think that's kind of the beauty of it. Nothing
26:17
happens and hopefully you lived your best life.
26:19
And if there is an afterlife, hopefully I live
26:23
within the boundaries and make it there. You
26:24
know what I mean? I believe in heaven. I for
26:28
sure believe in heaven. I don't know if I believe
26:31
in hell. I think that if you want to believe
26:33
in hell, then you'll probably go to hell. Rather
26:36
than being showered with gold and jewels or living
26:40
in some place where you have to have wings and
26:42
a harp, hopefully we just get reabsorbed into
26:45
that consciousness that allows the oceans to
26:48
move and the tides and the rivers and the trees
26:51
to grow. I hope. And maybe there's nothing. Either
26:56
way, it doesn't matter. Pretty interesting, right?
27:00
So here's my first challenge to you is when you
27:05
see that, there's like a tendency to want to
27:08
laugh when really what we should do is cry, right?
27:12
And this isn't just some kind of fringe group
27:16
of people that see the world in a weird way.
27:19
This is the predominant way that people see the
27:22
world. I just want to summarize essentially what
27:25
is it that the global youth culture believes
27:28
when it comes to the origin. of Earth. You're
27:31
going to hear kind of scientific answers for
27:34
how the Earth came to be. But then we're also
27:36
kind of drawing in Eastern religious energy and
27:39
this idea. So it's kind of this combination of
27:42
a naturalistic worldview combined with this vague
27:45
spirituality that we talked about. And then when
27:48
it comes to morality, if you ask the average
27:51
person, they're going to say that morality is
27:53
essentially a social construct, right? But then
27:57
Social injustice must be fought with passion,
28:00
right? So you've got this weird combination of
28:03
a social construct morality, but yet a sense
28:07
of obligation to fight injustice. And then purpose,
28:12
well, there is no purpose other than to seek
28:15
personal happiness. That is the ultimate expression
28:19
of purpose. And then destiny, the answer is essentially,
28:23
I don't know. And I try not to think about it.
28:27
Right. Because it's a scary, deep implication.
28:30
It's the kind of the cold, hard, atheistic answers
28:33
aren't very satisfying. And so what I do mostly
28:36
is not think about it. What I do mostly is when
28:39
it's late at night, I'm sitting in bed and I
28:41
can't fall asleep. And these dark thoughts come
28:43
to my mind. I just pull out my phone and I start
28:45
to scroll TikTok. Right. Because I don't want
28:48
to think about the big, deep, scary thoughts.
28:52
So this tends to be. The worldview of this global
28:57
youth culture is how they see the world. And
28:59
it all comes down to this idea of secular humanism,
29:03
which is the religion of self. The idea of secular
29:08
humanism is that God has been replaced, man is
29:12
at the center, and there's no outside authority
29:15
that can tell me how to live my life. And that
29:19
the key to happiness is found within. Just follow
29:23
your dreams and don't let anyone tell you who
29:26
you are or what you want. Take care of yourself
29:29
above all else. And so it's the era of my truth.
29:36
And in the era of my truth, identity, purpose,
29:40
and morality is personally constructed. We define
29:44
those things. You make your own meaning. And
29:48
if you pay attention, you see this messaging
29:50
everywhere. This is at a Starbucks and it's a
29:55
poster that says, don't you ever let a soul in
29:57
the world tell you that you can't be exactly
30:00
who you are. And it's quoting Lady Gaga. And
30:04
this perfectly illustrates the secular humanistic
30:07
worldview perfectly. And it's really appealing.
30:11
And it really, it sounds so good. The reality
30:17
is that the consequences of this worldview are
30:20
heartbreaking. And it's like poison wrapped in
30:23
bubble gum. And so that's the secular humanistic
30:26
worldview. And if you pay attention to it, you
30:29
see that the consequences are so, so heartbreaking.
30:34
Nancy Percy, written a number of good books on
30:37
apologetics, including Love Thy Body, which is
30:39
about Christian sexuality, says once a society
30:42
accepts a worldview, it tends to work out the
30:45
logical consequences. So let me give you an example
30:49
of this. A while back, a non -Christian friend
30:51
of mine from high school posted on social media
30:53
that his son, who is about the same age as my
30:57
oldest son, had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
31:01
And when I saw that post, I mean, it broke my
31:05
heart because I couldn't imagine the fear and
31:10
the pain that he was going through with his little
31:13
boy being diagnosed with brain cancer. And then
31:17
I began to read the comments on his posts. And
31:21
he was getting things like positive vibes, sending
31:25
healing vibes his way, sending you all positive
31:29
vibrations and much love. And then eventually
31:33
he responded, thank you everyone for the supportive
31:36
words of concern and positive energy you have
31:40
expressed for my son, Peter. And I couldn't help
31:43
but think about how hopeless. That all sounded
31:46
because in the secular humanistic worldview,
31:49
there is no transcendent hope, just positive
31:53
vibrations. And it's devastating, right? We live
31:59
in a culture and a generation that is incredibly
32:02
confused, sexually broken, lonely, anxious, and
32:10
depressed. I mean, these are universally felt.
32:15
In this culture, in this generation, you know,
32:17
because in a world where you define truth, what
32:21
you get is confusion. In a world in which you
32:24
do whatever makes you feel good, you get sexual
32:26
brokenness. And when it's all about you, you
32:29
get loneliness. When there's nothing to hold
32:32
on to beside yourself, you get anxiety. And the
32:37
saddest thing of all is that we as followers
32:41
of Jesus have the ultimate answers to these things.
32:45
Right? You know, Jesus brings truth to the confused.
32:49
He brings healing to the sexually broken. He
32:53
brings the ultimate relationship with our creator
32:56
and with the church. And he brings peace that
32:59
transcends understanding. We have the answer
33:03
to the cry of a generation. And the sad thing
33:06
is they are not looking to the church for answers.
33:10
They're not walking to the church. And so we...
33:14
Our response is that we need to go to them and
33:18
our hearts need to break because this isn't a
33:20
distant problem. This isn't out there. This is
33:24
personal. These aren't just trends and statistics.
33:27
These are our friends, sons, daughters, and grandkids.
33:30
And so when we hear this, our response should
33:33
be like that of Nehemiah. After he found out
33:36
that the city of Jerusalem was ruins in Nehemiah
33:39
chapter one, verse four, he said, when I heard
33:41
these things. I sat down and wept. That should
33:48
be our response. Because until our hearts are
33:53
broken, we're not going to do anything about
33:56
it. Because to the extent to which our hearts
33:59
are broken is the extent to which we will sacrifice,
34:03
that we will get uncomfortable, that we will
34:06
lay down our needs, our preferences for the sake
34:09
of the lost. We need our hearts to be broken,
34:12
but we can't change our hearts. You know, that's
34:16
only something God can do. So what we can do
34:19
is we can repent and we can say, God, my heart
34:22
is cold. I don't care for people like I should,
34:26
and it's not right. I've even gotten apathetic
34:29
about people in my own family. I'm sorry. Would
34:33
you forgive me? And would you give me your heart?
34:37
And when you start to pray that prayer, it's
34:39
a dangerous prayer because all of a sudden you're
34:41
going to start to see the world through God's
34:43
eyes. And you're going to start to see people
34:45
maybe for the very first time. And when he gives
34:49
you that broken heart, then you're going to be
34:51
willing to get uncomfortable, to be awkward,
34:54
to take a step of faith and risk because your
34:58
heart is so broken and God has awoken us from
35:01
our apathy. And once our hearts are broken, then
35:04
we need to pray like never before. We need to
35:08
go on like Nehemiah, which says that for some
35:11
days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the
35:14
God of heaven. And biblical scholars estimate
35:16
that Nehemiah actually prayed and fasted for
35:18
four months before he eventually approached the
35:22
king. And so the question is, why would Nehemiah
35:24
pray and fast so long and with such intensity?
35:29
And it's because when God opened his eyes to
35:31
the problem, he knew that he couldn't fix it
35:34
on his own, right? Because like Nehemiah, we
35:38
need to recognize that the mission that we were
35:40
called to, to bring the love of Jesus to people
35:44
that are far from him, that that mission is not
35:46
hard, it's impossible. Which means that no human
35:51
strategy, no evangelism script, no approach is
35:57
ever going to be enough. I can't even solve the
36:00
problems in my own family. But we need to understand
36:03
while the mission may be impossible, we serve
36:05
the God of the impossible. And then when we get
36:10
on our knees in desperate prayer and cry out,
36:13
God have mercy, that's when we're going to see
36:16
the breakthrough. And so that's where this all
36:19
starts. The foundation for reaching secular culture,
36:23
for reaching young people in our families and
36:26
in this world who will not walk into a church
36:27
is desperate prayer and a broken heart. That's
36:31
where it all starts. Not using the right words
36:34
or having the right script. It starts with a
36:36
broken heart. Because I don't know about you,
36:39
but I look around the world and all its brokenness
36:41
and I can be overwhelmed. We need God to move.
36:44
Our human efforts and wisdom are so woefully
36:47
inadequate. We need God's supernatural power.
36:52
And it's, you know, 1 Corinthians 4 .20 says,
36:54
the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but
36:57
of power. And the amazing thing, is that God
37:01
loves to move through ordinary people like you
37:06
and like me. But to experience God's power like
37:09
that, we've got to give him everything because
37:12
Jesus is not calling us to give a lot. He is
37:15
calling us to give everything. First Thessalonians
37:19
2 .8 says, we loved you so much. We are delighted
37:21
to share with you, not only the gospel of God,
37:24
but our lives as well. That's what it's going
37:27
to take. We've got to. We've got to change our
37:31
lifestyle. It's a radical shift in lifestyle
37:34
where we give everything that we have. And the
37:37
paradox of Jesus is that when you give your life,
37:41
you find it. That's the paradox of Jesus. And
37:45
that when you give all that you have, your five
37:48
loaves and your two fish, which is not enough,
37:51
he can take that and he can do the supernatural.
37:54
He can see that hardened heart, that person in
37:58
your life that wants nothing to do with God.
38:00
He can see their heart softened and awakened
38:03
to the reality of Jesus. He can do the supernatural.
38:07
All we have to do is give him everything that
38:10
we have. Aaron Pierce has been our guest teacher
38:15
today here on Living on the Edge with a message
38:18
titled Understanding the Secular Culture. It's
38:21
part of a larger series we've begun called Caring
38:24
Enough to Connect, Building Bridges to Those
38:26
We Love. Now, if you missed any part so far,
38:29
be sure to catch up anytime at livingontheedge
38:32
.org. What Aaron shared with us today is just
38:36
a taste of what you can explore for yourself
38:38
in the Not Beyond Reach Participants Guide. It's
38:41
a 10 -week video -based study that will help
38:44
you and your small group understand this generation's
38:47
worldview, start real spiritual conversations,
38:50
and carry the hope of the gospel into homes that
38:53
feel far from church. Each week includes a viewing
38:57
guide, discussion questions, a practical application,
39:00
and interactive group exercises. You can get
39:04
the Not Beyond Reach Participant's Guide at a
39:06
discounted price right now by going to livingontheedge
39:10
.org slash offers. Every single day, somebody
39:14
out there is asking the same hard questions we
39:17
explored in today's program. And that's exactly
39:19
why this ministry exists, to share biblical truth
39:23
to those who need it. This ministry work only
39:26
continues because of listeners like you who choose
39:29
to help keep it going with their financial support.
39:32
Wherever you're listening from today, we've made
39:34
it easy for you to donate online. Simply go to
39:37
livingontheedge .org or call 888 -333 -6003.
39:44
You can also send your gift by mail to Living
39:47
on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Sewanee, Georgia
39:51
30024. Now let me hand things over to our regular
39:56
Bible teacher, Chip Ingram. Thanks, Dave. Today
39:58
I've asked Aaron to join me in studio. And you
40:02
know, Aaron, today you referenced the man -on
40:04
-the -street type interviews, and you did these
40:07
with college students, and you ask them questions
40:09
like, you know, what's your purpose? How did
40:10
life begin? And what happens after we die? And
40:14
actually some pretty deep philosophical questions.
40:17
But afterwards, you made this really interesting
40:19
statement. Our natural instinct is to laugh at
40:23
some of those answers when in reality, we should
40:27
cry. Let me ask you this. What do you say to
40:30
that parent or grandparent that's just befuddled
40:35
by their adult child or grandchild that believes
40:39
some things that they just think, this is nuts,
40:42
this is crazy. Talk to that person. about why
40:46
they need to build a bridge rather than laugh?
40:49
You know, Chip, this is such an important question
40:51
because I think we need to remind ourselves that
40:55
the problem that we're dealing with is not first
40:59
and foremost an issue of logic or rationality,
41:03
but in fact, we're dealing with a spiritual blindness
41:06
issue. So if I were to point at a wall, but you're
41:12
blind. It doesn't matter how clearly I point
41:15
at it. You can't see it. And so in the same way,
41:19
we need to remind ourselves that we are in a
41:23
spiritual battle, that the fundamental problem
41:25
is spiritual blindness, and that should break
41:28
our hearts. And then it should remind us that
41:32
we can't fight a spiritual battle. With words
41:36
alone, with persuasive arguments, we need God
41:39
to move in a supernatural way for him to reveal
41:42
the truth in a way that our words alone can't
41:45
do. So that's why I say we should respond not
41:49
with laughter, but with crying, because this
41:52
is a generation that is spiritually blinded and
41:55
has been deceived. Next time, Aaron Pierce shows
41:59
us how to build real friendships with the secular
42:01
people in our own lives. Listen next time to
42:04
Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced
42:10
and sponsored by Living on the Edge.