July 23, 2006
Rev. Terry D. Campbell

What God Wants Today
Micah 6:8 (TNIV)

"He has showed you people what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

If Bradley United Methodist church left town, would anybody notice?” Would anybody care—aside from some people wanting to get married? Would it make any difference in this community if Bradley were gone? Would it make any difference if you were not a Christian?

That there are three things for which congregations are to be known in their community because of the lives of the Christians who make up that congregation. It’s important to evaluate how we are doing together and individually according to God’s standards.

I. Be known for walking humbly with God.

A congregation of Christians must have a dynamic internal focus. That is they must address the central issue of developing our spiritual lives. Congregations AND individual Christians should be known in a locality by Jesus IN our lives and Jesus THROUGH our lives. If someone wanted to find salvation, to get deep spiritual needs met, would they think first of coming to Bradley? Would someone at work or school or in the neighborhood think first of asking you because of your life as a Christian?

An infrastructure must be strong if it is to support a great and magnificent structure! Build it up as you go, even as you are building on the outside. (Illustrate with a few playing cards and my 2”x 6” wood form. A foundation needs to be strong enough to support what you build and what it houses. But also you can’t build a strong foundation and then just build a house of cards on it! That won’t last either.)

We can’t live as if God doesn’t exist and try to be good by human strength and ability alone. Our weak human nature will trip us up and betray us.

We need to emphasize to people the importance of personal salvation; of spiritual growth disciplines—prayer, Bible study, tithing, etc; that seeking the Lord is more than a Sunday add-on to life, but a core issue; and the importance of involvement in group worship. All of these need to be shining out of our lives as followers of Jesus. This is key structure on which to build solid lives.

Unfortunately, and sadly, too many Christians stop here. One very immature Christian said, “I am born again, I don’t have to love blacks.” Things like this insult our being recreated in Christ’s image.

II. Be known for loving mercy

God expects congregations and Christians to have an external focus. “What does the Lord require of you?” . . . the Church must reflect the mercy of God by addressing individual needs of people in the world.

In the Old Testament, Israel had tried to live selfishly and then to appease God with religious sacrifices, hoping God would then leave them alone. But sacrifices and other religious rituals aren’t enough. God wants changed lives. God’s people are to be fair, just, merciful and humble.

Jesus said in Luke 6:36 - “’Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.’” Mercy is God’s attitude and action toward those in true need or distress. Mercy is not a feeling, but an expressed action support. Mercy is love with legs on it. It is reaching out to make a positive difference for someone else.

Acts of kindness (like giving hungry people a fish) includes giving things like shelter, groceries, clothing, medical care, etc.

• We are trying to teach our young to do this: Our VBS collection for South American poor.
• Our congregation is a founding member of Hancock County Love In the Name of Christ effort to meet a variety of local people’s needs.
• As a congregation we are trying to express more consistently acts of mercy. Like helping in homes.
• Our fall mission trip to Henderson Settlement and earlier last spring to D’Iberville, Mississippi.

God EXPECTS US—congregation and Christians alike—to be known in Hancock County for doing acts of mercy. Deuteronomy 15:11 - “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” The Bible tells us that there will always be the poor in the land. But they don’t have to be the same poor all the time? God doesn’t think so.

III. Be known for acting justly.

God also requires that a congregation and it’s Christians be externally focused beyond one-time acts of mercy. That’s giving a fish. But teaching someone how to fish is a move toward justice. It addresses causes that have create symptoms. This is teaching people HOW to fish and HOW to own a pond.

Justice is important because it builds people’s self-esteem, self-confidence and is the foundation for accomplishment. Acts of justice work to move people from dependency to sufficiency as soon as possible. It includes things like tutoring/mentoring (from help in reading to learning to budget or how to prioritize financially) Job training (including mentoring on how to interview for a job); Job/Business creation; helping establish livable wages; helping with home ownership (like Habitat For Humanity does).

We can do these, or cooperate with other people or groups who are already doing them. But do acts of justice we must! James 1:27 - “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” God is watching.

Be known for all three of these!

“If your church left town, would anybody notice?” Not if we are just a religious club. But if we impact the community with acts of mercy and justice—then YES!

To have a good and solid name in this community we can’t just do one or even two of these and think we’re complete. People in today’s world want to know that our spirituality is real—that they can find God here. Most of them must be shown Christ’s love before they will believe and accept Christ’s life.

Notice that this is 1/3 inside ministry and 2/3 outside ministry. In what percentage each are YOU engaged? Are you evenly investing your life in God’s life plan?

• Walk humbly with God. _______ % Engaged here.
• Love mercy. _______ % Engaged here.
• Act justly. _______ % Engaged here.

What will you do now?

If you weren’t a Christian would it affect anyone else? If your church left town, would anybody notice?” They will if we have been faithfully doing what God wants today.  Amen.