OUTLINE FOR OPEN CELLS

(Week of 1 /10 – 1/16, 2010)

Icky World 2

"The Cynic and the Hopenic"

Subject - In a world filled with negativity, criticism and fatalistic views of the future, cynicism abounds and there never was a time when the language of faith, hope and love were more needed in the public discourse. Jesus warned; "In the last times the love of many will wax cold." The present world circumstances challenge us in this hour to melt the icy terrain of criticism and cynicism with the love songs of a caring heavenly Father.

I. Behold, the cynic!

A. cynic/a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view, a person who shows or expresses a bitterly or sneeringly cynical attitude.

1. In Medicine - resembling the actions of a snarling dog.

2. Origin - (Latin) Cynicus, (Greek) Kynikos, literally, doglike, currish

3. Synonyms - pessimist, misanthrope, naysayer, worrywart, wet blanket

B. A cynic can chill and dishearten with a single word. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)  . . . quotes on cynicism

II. Behold, the God of all faith, hope and love!

A. "Now may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by     the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

B. "Love . . . bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Cor. 13:7)

C. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1)

D. Hope is God's antidote to the poison of cynicism.

1. Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with hat is still possible for you to do. (Pope John XXIII)

2. When the world says, "Give up," hope whispers, "Try it one more time." (Anonymous)

E. Is the Father cynical toward mankind, or even vast segments of humanity?

1. God created the world, with the human family in a stewardship role over all things and saw that it was "very good." (Gen. 1:26-28, 31)

2. He continued to patiently sow His dream into the earth over centuries of time. (James 5:7)

3. God so loved the world that he gave His Son. (John 3:16) The son did not come into the world to condemn (criticize, revile, attack, slam) but to save. (v. 17)

4. The Father was "in Christ" laying down His life for all humanity, reconciling all to the Father. (2 Cor. 5:19) He has given us the ministry of reconciliation (v. 17) and committed to us the word of reconciliation. (v. 19) reconciliation/reunion, ceasefire, bringing together

5. The Spirit has been poured out upon "all flesh." (Acts 2:17) Through this act, the Church has been empowered to rightly represent the Father's heart and intentions. (Acts 1:8)

6. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should attend the great reunion.

a. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Pet. 3:9)

7. The highest glory is returned to the Father, not through our praises, but through our ruitfulness. (John 15:8) "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

8. Do you see the world's potential through Jesus' eyes, or the eyes of the cynic?