We reflect what we revere …either for our ruin or restoration. Big Idea of this Series

We reflect what we revere …either for our ruin or restoration. Big Idea of this Series One of the big reasons we fail to truly believe is because we are CYNICAL people.

What is cynicism? Cynicism = “The belief that only selfishness motivates human actions, and that even good actions have a hidden agenda; the way in which enlightened people make sure they are not taken for suckers.”

Signs of Cynicism  Lack of hopefulness  Excessive and relatively constant negative interpretations of reality  Excessive sarcasm and negative comments  Fault-finding  Define self by what you are against  Inability to trust people  Self-deprecating comments

Signs of Cynicism  Apathy and disengagement  Elitism  Seeming omniscience  Spiritual deadness

Is all cynicism bad? Ecclesiastes 2:1-11  1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. 4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house.

Is all cynicism bad? I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

Is all cynicism bad? I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Solomon’s cynicism led him to God!

Where does cynicism come from?  Being alive!  Raised expectations… “When we pick up our newspaper at breakfast, we expect – we even demand – that it bring us momentous events since the night before. We turn on the car radio as we drive to work and expect ‘news’ to have occurred since the morning newspaper went to press.... We expect our two-week vacation to be romantic, exotic, cheap, and effortless. We expect a faraway atmosphere if we go to a nearby place; and we expect everything to be relaxing, sanitary and Americanized if we go to a faraway place.... We expect anything and everything. We expect the contradictory and the impossible.

Where does cynicism come from? We expect compact cars which are spacious; luxurious cars which are economical. We expect to be rich and charitable, powerful and merciful, active and reflective, kind and competitive. We expect to be inspired by mediocre appeals for ‘excellence,’ to be made literate by illiterate appeals for literacy. We expect to eat and stay thin, to be constantly on the move and ever more neighborly, to go to the ‘church of our choice’ and yet feel its guiding power over us, to revere God and to be God. Never have people been more the masters of their environment. Yet never has a people felt more deceived and disappointed. For never has a people expected so much more than the world could offer.” –Daniel Boorstin, social historian, writing in 1962

What is so dangerous about cynicism? Psalm 1:1-2  1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.  Notice that the mocker (cynic) is seated…removed & inactive from the action  You are happy if you stay clear of cynics!!! Cynicism is CONTAGIOUS!

How do you interact with suspicion? Be suspicious of the suspicion. Why is it shameful to need God? What if atheism is a crutch created by people who don’t want to deal with God? How does the cynic seem to know all of this? Investigate the facts. Check out the Resurrection of Jesus

Reinvestigating the Resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:3-8  3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Reinvestigating the Resurrection 1.This info was passed on over a period of years 2.Jesus’ death was predicted for THOUSANDS of years by the Scriptures 3.Jesus rose from the dead 3 days later 4.Jesus appeared to over 500 people 5.This letter was a public document 6.The first eyewitnesses were women! 7.The tomb was actually empty 8.The key witnesses were killed for their testimonies

Reinvestigating the Resurrection 9.The key witnesses’ lives were transformed 10.The ancients would have been just as skeptical (if not more) than moderns 11.A whole new worldview and movement sprang up around the resurrection

What if the resurrection is NOT true? Left with a world of…  Chance accidents without meaning  Confused people with a Creator who is disinterested, powerless, and removed A cynical god!!!  A world where cynicism OUGHT to reign!!! Thank God that we do not have a cynical God!!!

Cynicism’s Cross  Jesus’ death on the cross for us shows that God is not content to merely remove Himself from the fray and critique us…  Jesus’ resurrection shows that there is hope and power for change  Jesus’ resurrection shows that this world matters