Trinity Baptist Church Online

God Adopted a City For His Own - One of the evidences that God has a special love for the city is found in Ezekiel 16:1-14. In this passage, through the prophet, He reminisces about the beginnings of His special relationship with the city of Jerusalem. Originally a “castaway” city, despised by its owners, God loved it and made it His own (“spread the corner of my garment” is symbolic of entering a marriage relationship, v.3.).  Knowing the special beginning and call upon the city of Jerusalem, Jesus wept at the inability of the Father’s city to recognize the very One that loved it from the beginning.

            God’s ongoing protective love for His city is seen in passages like Psalm 48. Here the Psalmist is praising God for His presence and protective love as demonstrated by the preserving of the temporal structures of the city. To God, though a city’s buildings and other man-made items are just “finger paintings” made by His children. He cares enough to preserve them on the refrigerator of His heart, especially as His children seek to know Him.

God Established His Temple Home in a City – God could have picked the highest mountain in the world, or a beautifully secluded forest as the backdrop for His temple. Instead, when it came time to establish a permanent structure where men could approach Him, His choice was the city (2 Sam. 6:16-17; 2 Chron.3:1).

            Jesus, who came to show us the Father (Jo. 12:45, 14:9-10) did not spurn city life. One small way He reflected this same heart of the Father is by not choosing to make the wilderness His home. Though His cousin John was not a city dweller, Jesus made the city of Capernaum His permanent home (Matt. 4:13; Mk. 2:1).

God Sees Cities as Blessings – Jerusalem is not the only city that is important to God (See Zech. 1:17). Deuteronomy 6:10 reminds us that God gave cities as gifts to others. Apparently, ever since the fall, cities were a means, in the realm of the grace of God, to protect those created in His image from some of the fallout of sin. Because of this, all city leaders have the God-given responsibility to guide their city to serve as His tool of blessing. In fact, in His common grace God cares about the protective quality of all cities. Jonah 4:1 tells us God had a concern for Nineveh. In Jeremiah 29: 4-7 God tells the Jews to help the city of Babylon to prosper. All cities potentially have qualities that can be used by God to declare His presence. It is these good things that the enemy continues to try and corrupt.

Jesus Saw Cities as Worthy of Invitation – Just as every person cannot escape the truth that they were created for the purpose of bearing God’s image in the world (Gen. 1:26-27), cities cannot escape the evidence that a primary purpose of each city He raised up is to be an extension of His protective grace. Jesus came to cities, served in them, giving them opportunity to improve themselves. But, when a city did not fulfill that responsibility, rejecting its God-given assignment, it and its leaders were challenged by God. Jesus gave small cities like Korazin, Bethsaida and even Capernaum (his home) an opportunity to repent for their lack of being a place that accepts its role as a steward of the Father’s grace (Matt. 11:20-24). Even today, cities that whole-heartedly reject the Church and its Gospel message are risking judgment.

            Jesus also sent out His disciples instructing them to give every community they serve the opportunity to become an oasis of grace. (Matt. 10: 11-15). Each place was seen as worthy of the opportunity to either accept or reject their Creator’s desire to be worshipped in that city.

Cities are One of God’s Primary Methods for Evangelism - Through the prophet Isaiah, in Chapter 60, God commands the city of Jerusalem to “Arise, shine, for thy light is come…gross darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon thee” (vv. 1-2).  He commands forth revitalization.  In this chapter, we see God causing the city to be restored to a bustling, strong center of commerce. Sea and land merchants come to do business (vv. 5-6); traders come from around the world (vv. 6b-9a); there will even be a surge of foreign capital and key international investors (v.10-11). He uses the city to draw people to know Him through worship at His temple (vv. 6b, 7b).  This call to Jerusalem aims all cities to their essential purpose.

            In this revitalization of Jerusalem we get a hint of one key reason why God wants people to come to cities – to encounter Him and then learn to worship Him. The primary purpose for the city is that it should be a place people are drawn to God’s grace. Cities are a key strategy to reach the lost. The international presence of most cities give the church (where God now dwells) a special opportunity to be missionaries to other countries without even going abroad. It is this very reason God places churches in the city and why suburban churches need to partner with them to serve in the city.

            Of course cities do not have to be perfect to useful to God. Just as every individual Christian in not yet perfect but seeks to imitate Jesus, so also, every city should seek to imitate God’s anointed city. As long as there is a church in the city, there is hope for that city to practice its divine call.

God is Currently Calling the World to Cities - According to the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division of the United Nations, in 1950, 29.4% of the total population lived in urban areas; in 1980 the proportion had risen to 39.9%. It was projected that by 2000, nearly 50% the world's population would live in urban areas, and by 2025 the proportion will be slightly higher than 60%.  Others are estimating that by the year 2025 over 75% of the world’s population will live in cities.

                        More than 400 cities in the world have over a million people and almost 20 have over 10 million. Clearly it is this urban explosion that will be, in the providence of God, a main vehicle for the reality of world evangelization. God is calling the world to cities if at the very least to hear the truth of the Gospel. Perhaps even more exciting, because urban dwellers tend to be more open to new ideas and change as well as face more pressures, is that God is planning to build His church as His calendar draws to a conclusion.

Cities are social interchanges and cultural conduits – The first century church understood the strategic importance of cities. It was no accident, for example that the apostle Paul was led to places like Corinth, Ephesus or Colosse an of course, Rome. First of all, most of these and other cities were a part on major trade routes, significant roles for commerce and Roman rule. They became natural places for connections to the non-Christian world.

Secondly, each city had its own unique ethnic, cultural and economic mixes, which helped to get the gospel translated and delivered in to smaller communities as friends, and relatives came to and from their city. The same opportunity is true of our cities today.

Cities are a good place to efficiently serve the poor – Scriptures are filled with mandates to not look past the poor. The poor are everywhere, but the density of cities give reason to consider the efficiency of targeting cities. It is also not difficult to imagine that because of the more developed infrastructures of cities, they also serve as “magnets,” drawing the hurting to the services that smaller communities just cannot afford.

            Commuters, those who do not live in cities but drive the city streets (local and by-passes) regularly, should accept the parable of the Good (commuter) Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) as speaking to them. Here, Jesus identifies our “neighbor” as any hurting person that God, is His sovereignty, places into our path. Cities are filled with the hurting. Instead of driving right past them, we should stop and lend a hand by partnering with those who are serving the poor in the city.

Cities are good places to effectively display Spirit-filled generosity – It is not an accident that first church grew in the setting of a city. Every aspiring musician, mime or juggler knows it is easiest to draw a diverse crowd in the city. On Pentecost, God, with the use of a rushing wind, used a city crowd for His purposes. Peter spoke to an already primed audience. Of course, one of God’s favorite Spirit-filled attraction items is the one where diverse believers come together (Acts 2:44) and then contradict the self-centeredness of the world by living out a heaven sent generosity (4: 32-35). 

Where there is Spirit-led unity and generosity of God’s people, the church is irresistible. What would God do if suburban churches and urban churches unselfishly came together to pray for their own display of a unity-generosity miracle for their city?

The dynamics of city-life is the believers’ eternal destiny – One good reason to get over any fears of the city is that God has determined that a city will be our final address (Hebrews 11:10, 16b). This city is the restored or New Jerusalem, the very one foretold by Isaiah (Isa.60-61). Admittedly, it will be an extremely expansive and unique city (Rev. 21), free from all of the ailments and ills of our cities. Thus, the Bible begins with man living in the garden, but it clearly concludes with man enjoying life in the city with Him. In light of this truth, it is not unreasonable for every person to consider why God, who knows us perfectly, would destine us to become urban dwellers with Him? What are the things that He adores about city life that He wants to share with us? The writer of Hebrews (13:14) excitedly points to our destiny this way: “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” It just makes sense to prepare for our eternal future by learning to love what God loves about the city.