I remember a sleepover when I was a child...the stork... all agreed, we wanted to be married, we wanted to have kids, but none of us wanted to go through the messy awkwardness of sex.
I remember as a teenager me and most of my friends were thinking I’m not sure if I want to go through all that messiness of marriage and having kids, but you know, that sex part seems like it might be alright...
I remember thinking, I can’t wait until I’m married and then I won’t have to worry about LUST anymore...
I remember getting married, and how then, for the first time really, an appetite was awakened in me. And I never really struggled with lust UNTIL that appetite was awakened. And I knew that if I was going to have a good and Godly sex life, and if I was not going to be consumed and driven by lust, that I was going to have to go deeper, that I was going to have to go to God, and talk with Robin, and get advice from good men...
Now that I’m in my 30’s I’m eager to get to my 40’s because I figure that certainly by then I won’t have to struggle with lust anymore because my sex drive will have so drastically diminished...
Today we are talking about lust. We are working our way through Matthew 5-7, SoM, MANIFESTO. Jesus has begun walking through a change in life so powerful, so deep, so all encompassing, that it turns lives, and our world, upside down and inside out. A change so pervasive I have been calling it deep religion, although the better word is deep relationship. He is starting at the surface level of what religion has become. What has it become? “You have heard that it was said....” Jesus uses laws, or teachings form the law, to talk about contempt, lust, divorce, lying, revenge and war and peace. No Jesus says, i want to take you deeper in each. Deeper to the heart of darkness. He goes deeper and deeper and deeper- from the anger that lives in each of us, to the lust thats that it can breed, to the breakdown of what is supposed to be the unbreakable relationship we have in this world, to the breakdown of the truth of our own words and vows... deeper and deeper and deeper we go.
We could spend the rest of the summer going deeper, just like we could have spent the whole summer on the beatitudes. But today I want to tell you a story. A story that i can’t help but think that Jesus may have had in mind when he taught this message. A story that would seem so far fetched if it wasn’t in fact so common in or world. A story of a man and a woman who walks down this path of destruction, but who, at their darkest hour, are able to make a turn, and begin a long slow crawl back out- broken, battered, changed forever, but still alive, and eventually, able to even thrive. It’s a a scathing tale, but ultimately, one of hope.
I want to begin with the end- the inevitable destination that lust will drive us toward. Then we’ll work out way out.
The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!
The story of David spans the course of 4 books in the bible- from his first mention in Ruth, through 1 and 2 Samuel, into 1 Kings. David was the 8th of eight sons. In our time often the baby of the family gets special treatment. I know, I’m the baby in my family. It’s not a bad gig. Not so in ancient times. By the time you got to number 8 you were so far down the line in the peeking order, you were literally left the scraps and crumbs.
David is left to tend his family sheep out in the wilderness. With a sling in one hand to protect himself and the flock, and a flute in the other to pass the time, David was pretty much left alone to soak in the beauty of his surrounding, and to live in his imagination. He must have developed a wonderful appreciation for God’s creation and beauty, and a wonderful way with words, for later in life he would write some of the worlds most inspired, uplifting and well know poems.
David was minding his work one day when a messenger comes to bring him to his fathers house. There waiting, standing, was his father Jesse, his 7 older, bigger, stronger, meaner looking brothers, and a man named Samuel. everyone knew Samuel, the prophet, the boy given to God, the man who anointed Saul King over Israel. Before David probably even knew what was unfolding before him, his is standing before Samuel, and he is anointed king over all of Israel.
What a head trip- can you imagine what it would be like, as a teenager, a boy, to be told that you will be king over your entire nation? And to add to the surreal nature of this event, there is already a king in power, who has his own sons waiting to take the throw. Not only is he in power, he seems to have gone a bit corrupt, a bit mad, from the power of the throne.
Fast forward through the years- David learns of a giant named Goliath mocking God and holding the people in a grip of fear, and so he goes out to the battle field and literally slays the warrior with a sling and stone. He fame begins to grow. He becomes a servant in the house of king Saul. He takes the kings daughter as his wife. He becomes best friends with Saul’s own son. He wins victory after victory. Everything he touches turns to gold. It seems he can do no wrong. Everyone loves him it seems, except Saul. Saul get a bit jealous. I can relate to that.
David rises to power, but it is a long a rough road, filled with fighting, pain, trial and temptation. It is not until he is 30 years old that he finally takes the throne. He has followed this path well- he did not subvert the plans of God,he did not take short cuts, he did not take the easy road. He truly demonstrated that God’s spirit was with him, and he was a man after God’s own heart. But even a Godly man can have lusts.
It was the spring, the time for love, the time to plant in fertile ground, but also the time to take new ground. The Ammonites sacked a city not far from Jerusalem. The first punch had been thrown, and war was declared. But for the first time ever in his life David, King David, did not lead the charge into battle, but instead, stayed home, in his palace, in Jerusalem. Why didn’t he go? Who knows what all was going through his head. Maybe he didn’t feel well. Maybe he felt there were more pressing matters that he, the king should attend. maybe he wanted to empower Joab, his second in command, with more responsibility. Maybe he was just starting to enjoy the business lunches and comforts of the kingdom a little too much. Whatever the mix of maybe and reasons, he stayed behind.
And one night he got up from his bed, he went out to the roof of his palace, a common thing for a king to do to look upon his city. Many nights David would have walked his roof, inspired by the beauty of the city of Jerusalem,a city set on a hill with an awe inspiring view over the Promised Land. A view that inspired him to writes psalms and poems about the city built for God. Many night he would have come up to the roof to stand in awe of the moon and stars, countless as they are. But that night it wasn’t the beauty of the city or patterns of stars splashed across the sky that captured David’s eyes. His eyes were focused much lower that night, much more to the what might be found in the city.
That night a woman named Bathsheba was out on her roof. Bathsheba means she who takes a bath on the roof- her parents should have known better. Just kidding. David was shocked when he saw her naked figure glistening in the moonlight. He instinctively turned his head in shame for what he saw and what he began to think... He did no such thing.
When we are young the naked form holds no particular shame or interest for us. We are comfortable in our own skin and with our own parts. And we are comfortable with others skin and their parts. In fact, if there anything that the naked form evokes from the eyes of children, it’s laughter. There’s a certain silliness, a goofiness, a vulnerability to the naked form.
But over time our view of ourselves begins to change. Our view of others begins to change. The age of Aquarius so to speak. The age of awareness- and awareness of what the parts are there for. The awareness of what the parts can do, and the pleasure they can bring.
David was more than aware. He was now aware of his own position. His own power. And so that night he didn’t turn. And that night Bathsheba didn’t hide herself as well. For surely she knew she was a desirable woman. Sure she knew she was in full view of the palace. Surely she knew David had not lead the charge to battle this time. Surely she knew David’s habits, everybody knew David’s habits. And so the journey into the darkest places that human lust and desire can take two people began to swallow David and Bathesheba.
Who is she? David asks. Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. Oh, that must have hurt, for at least a moment. Uriah, not an unknown name to David. Not some nameless soldier, expendable, and replaceable. Uriah, who we find out later, was one of David’s mighty men, an elite group of men who had proven themselves extraordinarily gifted, strong, and above all loyal to David and God. There was an actual pecking order to the soldiers, and he was in the top tier. Uriah was in fact a trusted friend of David.
Still, David sends for her. She comes. They indulge the lust that has brought them this far. She goes home. And a short while later David gets a special delivery. It’s a little white stick with a window on the end and in that window he sees a plus sign. She’s pregnant.
What unfolds now is nothing less that the most graphic playing out of the consequences of lust at it’s worst. What plays out demonstrates the worst in David, the worst in Bathsheba, the worst in human nature, positioned right next to the best, most loyal, most trusting, most noble that any man could ever hope to be. The story gives all the sorted details. David sends for Uriah to come home from the battle field, to give a report, how was Joab doing as commander, how’s the battle going, what the moral of the men? Great job Uriah, you’re a good man, why don’t you go home now, spend the night, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more. Uriah sleeps on the steps of the palace because no committed soldier would ever dream of sleeping in a bed and making love to his wife while his fellow soldiers are on the field of battle!
Uriah, wait, don’t go back, I have, uh, more I want to tell you. Have a drink while you’re here. have another drink, and another, and another, as many as you want. And again he sleeps on the steps of the palace.
Oh Uriah, you’re not going to make this easy are you. And so David’s hand is forced. What else can he do? He sends a message with Uriah for Joab. He delivers them just as he was told, just like a noble, loyal, fully devoted soldier would do. He delivers his own death warrant.
Bathsheba goes through the customary mourning period. David, noble, good, Godly king that he was, does the only honorable thing, he has pity on this poor widow, and takes her as his own wife, and she gave birth to a son. And the chapter ends with these words: “But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.” 2 Sm 11:27
And so Nathan says to David, you are the man. You have spun that tale of lies and deceit, of broken vows and and late night liaisons, of lust, and anger, and finally, murder. And the tale would seem far-fetched and far removed from the realm of possibility if only, if only we didn’t see it played out with different names, and different details, but with the same ending, over and over and over again.
“But why is it wrong if it isn’t hurting anyone,” we tell ourselves. And if only that were the case. But it is hurting countless lives. It is hurting men and women, young and old. It is hurting marriages and destroying families. It has lead to the downfall of empires.
What is lust...
Lust by definition desires what is forbidden.
The very fact that it cannot have it, feeds the lust even more.
It feeds it and drives it until it finds away.
And then we find ourselves doing things we woudl have never imagined.
Sneaking around. Hiding bills. Lurking in the shadows. Craving the cover of night.
Along the way lust exacts a terrible price.
Lust degrades the object of desire.
It turns him or her into it.
It takes removes everything messy for the equation- love, commitment, marriage.
It removes relationships.
Finally, lust degrades the luster.
It separates us form our emotions, our commitments, our relationships
It compartmentalizes us.
It creates 2 people living in one body
Lust is an appetite that grows when fed. Our body grows when fed. Many people will fool themselves and say I’ll just go on this one binge and get it out of my system. Sorry folks, doesn’t work that way. Indulge and appetite and it will only grow stronger.
Jesus drives us to the heart of the appetite. He says...
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[e] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
I don’t want anyone here thinking that the solution to lust is to begin cutting out and cutting off the parts of our body that are involved. Because when you keep going down this path, to simply cut out and cut off any part of our body that leads us into sin we will cut our both eyes, and both hands, and both legs, and will still not cut our the problem. We will have to cut out imagination, as if that was possible. We would have to take this all the way to our heart, and say Jesus, Jesus, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to actually cut out my heart and give it to you so that you can I can be free from lust and sin?
Yes. That is exactly where Jesus is taking us. God says I look to the heart. And I know what goes on in the hearts of men and women. And if we are going to do something about this sin issue- the anger, the lust, they lying, the revenge, all this stuff, we have to go deep, as deep as we can possibly go, deep down. I need your heart. I need to change you from the inside out. I don’t want to treat the symptoms, I want to cut out the cancer.
Jesus says this is only going to work if you have a bigger picture of me, your God, if you have a bigger picture of you life and how valuable it is to me, and if you will embrace a kingdom perspective, a heavenly perspective. A perspective that says, in light of the relationship that jesus is inviting me into right now, in light of the kinds of relationships he is guiding me into, in light of the glorious riches of an eternity with God, this appetite is not worth it. It is just not worth my God, my family, my life!
And the great news today is that this is exactly what God did for David. At what could have been David’s worst moment, he turned, and it became one of his greatest moments. When he got busted, he didn’t lie or defend himself or laugh it off or go down that path of murder once more. He stopped. He repented. he confessed his sin. he fasted. He prayed. he wept. his life was forever changed. He was an adulterer now. A murderer. A liar. A deceiver. He was scarred for life and his family was scarred for life. He was never the same man again. He learned about heart change the hard way, and given the choice, given the choice, I can guarantee you he would have taken a different path.
Today I hope if you have not gone done a path of hard lessons learned, you’ll stay off that path. I hope that you’ll trust God with your heart and let him workout all anger and lust and lies and deceit before any of them destroy your life and the lives of those you love and your relationship with God.
But if you have gone down that path, can you just say today I’m busted. God has caught you with your pants down. God walked in and saw you on that website, he saw you watching that porno. He saw you in that hotel room. He saw you peering through that window. He knows what’s stored in the secret caches of your computer. Can you just say I’m busted and I want to repent, and I want a new heart, a new beginning, and I will do everything I can to make that heart change evident.
let God have you and change you from the inside out. let him do his work on your heart that he might root out every seed of lust that would destroy your love and your lives and the lives of those you love. Then make the outward changes necessary. Again, let me say, do not go to the extreme of self-mutilation. That is not the point. But Jesus does want us to go to an extreme.
If you need to confess, do it. If you need counseling, get it. If you need get to off the internet- get rid of it. Stop walking around on the roof at night trying to catch a glimpse, stopped taking baths on your roof at night. The evidence of a heart change is going to be changes in what we do with the lust and temptations that lurk in the dark. There are men and women here today that are walking rooftops and taking baths. If you keep walking long enough, if you keep baiting that hook, you are going to catch what you are fishing for. That door is going to open, that invitation will arrive.
Showing posts with label Matthew 5. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew 5. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
MANIFESTO- Week 4
Many of us are familiar with the name Leo Tolstoy, most notably the masterpieces, War and Peace, and Anna Karenina. But to be honest, few of are probably familiar with his books. I must confess, I only read the abridged version of War and Peace when it was assigned to me in college- reading the whole book is out of my pay scale. Tolstoy is remembered and studied as one of the greatest novelists of all time, period. And what is so fascinating to so many was his radical conversion to Christianity. That conversion was so dramatic that Tolstoy became known as a Christian literalist- one who literally tried to keep and live our the teachings of Jesus. This lead to his stance against violence, embracing pacifism, giving away his wealth, becoming an wandering ascetic at the end of his life, and even to embrace the title of a “Christian anarchist.”
Here’s what so important for us- no work had more effect on Tolstoy’s life and belief more than the very text we are studying, Matthew 5-7, the sermon on the mount, or what we are calling our Christian MANIFESTO. If one of the greatest minds in the world thought these were the greatest words every written, then we might want to consider them. In his last great novel, Resurrection, published in 1900, Tolstoy tells the story of Prince Nekhlyudov, who is openly recognized as a a portrait of himself. Towards the end of the novel Nekhlyudov re-reads the sermon on the mount, and his life is forever changed. For in the words of the sermon he finds not exaggerated and impossible demands, but rather, a new order of human life, attained for us in Jesus Christ, and attainable by us when our lives are in Jesus Christ. He writes...
That is what I am praying will happen to all of us- a conversion of the same magnitude of Prince Nekhlyudov. That our lives would be endowed with an entirely new meaning and purpose and hope for the future because of what Jesus offers us and teaches us. Tolstoy got what Jesus was offering to us- not just a new list of rules, not just new conditions, but an entirely new way to live. A way of life that STARTS by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. A way of life that continues in obedience to Jesus Christ.
Let me state it this way- the life and faith described in the MANIFESTO is on one level not attainable, but neither is it unattainable. Yeah, I just contradicted myself. First, when we come to the demands of this sermon, love your enemy, do not look on a woman lustfully, and so on, we have to conclude, that we can’t measure up. We can’t do this perfectly. We will find the moral demands of the message so demanding that we throw up our arms in despair. Many have done just this when trying to fulfill the sermon on their own strength. It can lead to defeat, despair and depression.
And it’s almost like in that moment of despair the light bulb turns on and we say oh, that’s the point- we can’t, Jesus can. I’m not perfect, Jesus is. Jesus can do this. That’s why Jesus says first, come to me, then I will help you live this way. I will be with you every step of the way as you begin a life-long journey to live like this. Jesus is the source of our life and faith, the Sermon is course of our life in Jesus.
Jesus is the source, the sermon is the course. Say that with me...
Jesus is the source of life. He is he living Word the bible says, he shows us God, he opens the door to a relationship with God. When Tolstoy got this, it changed everything, it was like a light turned on and everything from that day was filled with new meaning and purpose and power. His whole perspective had changed to a Kingdom of heaven perspective. Countless other men and women have experienced this transformation. For some its radical, it’s almost instantaneous. For others, we are in it for the long haul, it’s one step, one degree, one bit at a time. But when it happens, things are different.
That’s why it so important to keep in the flow of the MANIFESTO and to embrace this a a progression. After today we are deep into the MANIFESTO, so this is the last time until the end that I’m going to be doing a recap. Now this is easy to remember:
First, the invitation to be a part of the kingdom of heaven.
Then the ironic blessings of the kingdom of heaven.
Then the influence of the the kingdom of heaven.
Just before chapter 5, Jesus begins his public ministry and it is characterized by one big idea- “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repent, turn, open your eyes, open your ears, open your mind, the kingdom of heaven is standing right in front of you, so close you can touch it. Jesus is saying- I am the source- turn to me, come to me, and you actually come into a new way of being, a new life. It’s life in me. It’s where I rule and reign. It’s the kingdom of heaven! That’s what it means to repent and put our faith in Jesus. We come to him as the source.
People came to him, and kingdom things happened in their lives- healing, hope, wholeness, freedom. So the followed him, and then he began to teach them, Matthew 5:1-2 they went up the mountain, Jesus sat and began to teach, the first thing he teaches- who is blessed? The great news- it has nothing to do with your age, race, sex, economic demographic, IQ, profession, or lack of any profession. In fact, who is blessed- it’s just about everybody you didn’t expect. It’s everyone that the world says are losers. It’s everyone who can say, Jesus, you are the source. The blessed announcements are amazing. LEARN THESE...
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Get these ironic blessing of the kingdom in you so that your perception of the blessed life can be endowed with new meaning!
Then, third, the influence of the kingdom of heaven- it’s what we talked about last week- it’s like salt and light. It’s like salt that gets in us and saves us from rot and flavors us for life. It’s light light that goes our from our lives, revealing the kingdom, revealing life, revealing Jesus. It’s you. When Jesus gets into you and saves you, you become part of his saving mission to get into people lives. WHen Jesus gets into you, you become light to shine in all the dark places of our world. It’s amazing what Jesus offers us here. He says you blessed freaks and geeks, you blessed people of mine, you are going to be the ones to change the world. You will change the world, but first, you must understand that I am the source. I am the source of the kingdom of heaven.
Now, Jesus is gonna get into it. Invitation- Ironic blessings- Influence. Now the Importance of the law as it will show us the course of life. Matthew 5:17-20...
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
What Jesus has said is so radical, so transformative, so paradigm shifting that it runs an immediate and present risk. The risk of missing the whole point. Life is like that sometimes- we call it missing the forest for the trees. We have a way of getting wrapped up into the bit and pieces sometimes, and incredibly, we can then miss the whole point. Jesus knows this. He knows that what he has done by offering an open invitation to experience the kingdom of heaven, to become a part of the kingdom of heaven, can be radically misunderstood. So he wants to make two things very clear to us- his relationship to the law and prophets (17-18), and our relationship to the law and prophets (19-20).
What is Jesus’ relationship to the law- he is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. the law showed the people how to live in a relationship with God. The prophets told of the day when God would come in the flesh to redeem his people. This is what Jesus does. He is the fulfillment of the law in that he lived by the law without fault or failure. People looked at jesus, they said his life looks very different than ours. They concluded, that because they were trying to follow the law that jesus must have abandoned the law of God. But it was just the opposite- jesus was saying my life looks different from you NOT because I don;t do the law. Rather, it’s because I’m the only one whose truly keeping the law. I’m the one fulfilling the law perfectly, unlike anyone else ever has or could. Thus, he is the fulfillment of the prophets- the promise that God would send his messiah, his son, the one who would offer us salvation and offer us life.
What is our relationship to the law and the prophets? When we are in a relationship with Jesus, then by default we have some relationship now with the law and prophets. The law and prophets still teach us the course of a life in relationship with God, and with our neighbors. What is our big quote for the day- Jesus is the source, his message is the course.
Many of the people listening to Jesus had gotten so wrapped up in the trees, that they forgot the forest. One group in particular, the Pharisees, got so wrapped up in the letters of the law that they began to add their own laws to make sure they kept the laws. They lost the spirit of the law Jesus would say later in his ministry. They forgot the forest.
What is the forest- it’s remember the whole point and purpose of the law. The law was given to the people of God to guide them in how to live in relationship with God. Let’s go way back to the start- Remember, the people were enslaved. They cried out to God for freedom, for salvation, for deliverance. God heard their cry and called Moses to lead them into the promised land. They got to the promised land. The people cried out again, feed us, give us water, teach us how to live, and so God called Moses to Mount Sinai, and he gave him the first laws, the ten commandments as we call them.
What is the context now of the law, what is the forest? - it is given by the God who has established his love for his people and his desire to be in a relationship with them. How do the commands start- I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, you shall have no other gods before me. God is saying understand this- I have come into a relationship with you. You are my people. I am your God. I saved you from slavery. I’ve provided for all your needs. You’ve cried out for me to tell you what to do, how to live, how to have this relationship with me. And I’ve listened. First law- real simple- no other gods. Just be faithful to me. Be faithful to our relationship.
It’s all about relationship. The law is given to those in relationship with God. In the same way that we give our own laws to those with whom we are in relationship. I have rules for my children. Why? Because they are my children. Because I Iove them. I give them rules not to be an oppressive killjoy, though they sometimes think I am. I give them laws because they are my kids and I love them more than I love myself. I make them eat right and go to bed because I love them. I make them learn to read because I love them. I give them chores to do because I love them.
What happens when they break the rules? Do they cease being my children? No. Do I love them a less? Maybe, I mean my love is unconditional, but it can be temperamental. But really, I don’t stop loving them. They are my kids. I am their father. When they break the rules they don’t stop being my kids. They’re just not living into the relationship in the best way.
Jesus tells us, don’t lose the forest for the trees, but also, don’t lose the trees for the forest. I’m not destroying the law, I’m fulfilling the law. And through me, I want you to live by the law as well. In fact, I’m going to explain and tighten up the spirit of the law now.
We need to see the parallel here: God gave Moses and the people the law after he had established his relationship with them. he had proven his love, proven his power. Proven himself. the people ASKED to be directed in how to live in the promised land and in relationship with God. He answered them. he gave them the commands.
Jesus has proven himself to the people. He has brought to them the power of the kingdom of heaven. he has invited them to enter into a relationship with himself. the people listened, they followed. They asked how to live. Jesus begins to teach them. He begins to show them how to live out of this new paradigm, this new relationship.
Jesus is going to hit 6 things that had immense relevance to his people. These are six areas of live to which there were laws attached. They might be far removed from us because we have advanced so much as a culture and as people. Still, he deals with these archaic things of:
Counselors today talk about Deep Psychology, or depth psychology. This was the school of thought developed by people like Sigmund freud and Carl Jung. In the most basic definition, depth psychology says that our psyche is made up of conscious and unconscious parts. I order to understand our behavior and cognitive approach to life, we much get deep into this unconscious or sub-consious. But more, there is healing power found in uncovering and reveal our deeper, sub-conscious level motives.
In a similar way of thinking, but this is something else entirely, Jesus is going to push us towards a king of deep religion. A religion that goes so deep it’s gets in us, it changes us from the inside out. It changes not just what we do, but who we are. Not just out outward, but the inner heart and motivations.
This week- no fun, fancy tight ending. Rather, I'm intentionally leaving it messy. You need to read the six sections of Matthew 5. Then wrestle with it. Which one is touching your life, or the life of someone you love. Focus on that section. Work it out...
Here’s what so important for us- no work had more effect on Tolstoy’s life and belief more than the very text we are studying, Matthew 5-7, the sermon on the mount, or what we are calling our Christian MANIFESTO. If one of the greatest minds in the world thought these were the greatest words every written, then we might want to consider them. In his last great novel, Resurrection, published in 1900, Tolstoy tells the story of Prince Nekhlyudov, who is openly recognized as a a portrait of himself. Towards the end of the novel Nekhlyudov re-reads the sermon on the mount, and his life is forever changed. For in the words of the sermon he finds not exaggerated and impossible demands, but rather, a new order of human life, attained for us in Jesus Christ, and attainable by us when our lives are in Jesus Christ. He writes...
“That night an entirely new life began for Nekhlyudov, not so much because he had entered into new conditions of life but because everything that happened to him from that time on was endowed with an entirely different meaning for him. How this new chapter of his life will end, the future will show.”
That is what I am praying will happen to all of us- a conversion of the same magnitude of Prince Nekhlyudov. That our lives would be endowed with an entirely new meaning and purpose and hope for the future because of what Jesus offers us and teaches us. Tolstoy got what Jesus was offering to us- not just a new list of rules, not just new conditions, but an entirely new way to live. A way of life that STARTS by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. A way of life that continues in obedience to Jesus Christ.
Let me state it this way- the life and faith described in the MANIFESTO is on one level not attainable, but neither is it unattainable. Yeah, I just contradicted myself. First, when we come to the demands of this sermon, love your enemy, do not look on a woman lustfully, and so on, we have to conclude, that we can’t measure up. We can’t do this perfectly. We will find the moral demands of the message so demanding that we throw up our arms in despair. Many have done just this when trying to fulfill the sermon on their own strength. It can lead to defeat, despair and depression.
And it’s almost like in that moment of despair the light bulb turns on and we say oh, that’s the point- we can’t, Jesus can. I’m not perfect, Jesus is. Jesus can do this. That’s why Jesus says first, come to me, then I will help you live this way. I will be with you every step of the way as you begin a life-long journey to live like this. Jesus is the source of our life and faith, the Sermon is course of our life in Jesus.
Jesus is the source, the sermon is the course. Say that with me...
Jesus is the source of life. He is he living Word the bible says, he shows us God, he opens the door to a relationship with God. When Tolstoy got this, it changed everything, it was like a light turned on and everything from that day was filled with new meaning and purpose and power. His whole perspective had changed to a Kingdom of heaven perspective. Countless other men and women have experienced this transformation. For some its radical, it’s almost instantaneous. For others, we are in it for the long haul, it’s one step, one degree, one bit at a time. But when it happens, things are different.
That’s why it so important to keep in the flow of the MANIFESTO and to embrace this a a progression. After today we are deep into the MANIFESTO, so this is the last time until the end that I’m going to be doing a recap. Now this is easy to remember:
First, the invitation to be a part of the kingdom of heaven.
Then the ironic blessings of the kingdom of heaven.
Then the influence of the the kingdom of heaven.
Just before chapter 5, Jesus begins his public ministry and it is characterized by one big idea- “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repent, turn, open your eyes, open your ears, open your mind, the kingdom of heaven is standing right in front of you, so close you can touch it. Jesus is saying- I am the source- turn to me, come to me, and you actually come into a new way of being, a new life. It’s life in me. It’s where I rule and reign. It’s the kingdom of heaven! That’s what it means to repent and put our faith in Jesus. We come to him as the source.
People came to him, and kingdom things happened in their lives- healing, hope, wholeness, freedom. So the followed him, and then he began to teach them, Matthew 5:1-2 they went up the mountain, Jesus sat and began to teach, the first thing he teaches- who is blessed? The great news- it has nothing to do with your age, race, sex, economic demographic, IQ, profession, or lack of any profession. In fact, who is blessed- it’s just about everybody you didn’t expect. It’s everyone that the world says are losers. It’s everyone who can say, Jesus, you are the source. The blessed announcements are amazing. LEARN THESE...
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Get these ironic blessing of the kingdom in you so that your perception of the blessed life can be endowed with new meaning!
Then, third, the influence of the kingdom of heaven- it’s what we talked about last week- it’s like salt and light. It’s like salt that gets in us and saves us from rot and flavors us for life. It’s light light that goes our from our lives, revealing the kingdom, revealing life, revealing Jesus. It’s you. When Jesus gets into you and saves you, you become part of his saving mission to get into people lives. WHen Jesus gets into you, you become light to shine in all the dark places of our world. It’s amazing what Jesus offers us here. He says you blessed freaks and geeks, you blessed people of mine, you are going to be the ones to change the world. You will change the world, but first, you must understand that I am the source. I am the source of the kingdom of heaven.
Now, Jesus is gonna get into it. Invitation- Ironic blessings- Influence. Now the Importance of the law as it will show us the course of life. Matthew 5:17-20...
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
What Jesus has said is so radical, so transformative, so paradigm shifting that it runs an immediate and present risk. The risk of missing the whole point. Life is like that sometimes- we call it missing the forest for the trees. We have a way of getting wrapped up into the bit and pieces sometimes, and incredibly, we can then miss the whole point. Jesus knows this. He knows that what he has done by offering an open invitation to experience the kingdom of heaven, to become a part of the kingdom of heaven, can be radically misunderstood. So he wants to make two things very clear to us- his relationship to the law and prophets (17-18), and our relationship to the law and prophets (19-20).
What is Jesus’ relationship to the law- he is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. the law showed the people how to live in a relationship with God. The prophets told of the day when God would come in the flesh to redeem his people. This is what Jesus does. He is the fulfillment of the law in that he lived by the law without fault or failure. People looked at jesus, they said his life looks very different than ours. They concluded, that because they were trying to follow the law that jesus must have abandoned the law of God. But it was just the opposite- jesus was saying my life looks different from you NOT because I don;t do the law. Rather, it’s because I’m the only one whose truly keeping the law. I’m the one fulfilling the law perfectly, unlike anyone else ever has or could. Thus, he is the fulfillment of the prophets- the promise that God would send his messiah, his son, the one who would offer us salvation and offer us life.
What is our relationship to the law and the prophets? When we are in a relationship with Jesus, then by default we have some relationship now with the law and prophets. The law and prophets still teach us the course of a life in relationship with God, and with our neighbors. What is our big quote for the day- Jesus is the source, his message is the course.
Many of the people listening to Jesus had gotten so wrapped up in the trees, that they forgot the forest. One group in particular, the Pharisees, got so wrapped up in the letters of the law that they began to add their own laws to make sure they kept the laws. They lost the spirit of the law Jesus would say later in his ministry. They forgot the forest.
What is the forest- it’s remember the whole point and purpose of the law. The law was given to the people of God to guide them in how to live in relationship with God. Let’s go way back to the start- Remember, the people were enslaved. They cried out to God for freedom, for salvation, for deliverance. God heard their cry and called Moses to lead them into the promised land. They got to the promised land. The people cried out again, feed us, give us water, teach us how to live, and so God called Moses to Mount Sinai, and he gave him the first laws, the ten commandments as we call them.
What is the context now of the law, what is the forest? - it is given by the God who has established his love for his people and his desire to be in a relationship with them. How do the commands start- I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, you shall have no other gods before me. God is saying understand this- I have come into a relationship with you. You are my people. I am your God. I saved you from slavery. I’ve provided for all your needs. You’ve cried out for me to tell you what to do, how to live, how to have this relationship with me. And I’ve listened. First law- real simple- no other gods. Just be faithful to me. Be faithful to our relationship.
It’s all about relationship. The law is given to those in relationship with God. In the same way that we give our own laws to those with whom we are in relationship. I have rules for my children. Why? Because they are my children. Because I Iove them. I give them rules not to be an oppressive killjoy, though they sometimes think I am. I give them laws because they are my kids and I love them more than I love myself. I make them eat right and go to bed because I love them. I make them learn to read because I love them. I give them chores to do because I love them.
What happens when they break the rules? Do they cease being my children? No. Do I love them a less? Maybe, I mean my love is unconditional, but it can be temperamental. But really, I don’t stop loving them. They are my kids. I am their father. When they break the rules they don’t stop being my kids. They’re just not living into the relationship in the best way.
Jesus tells us, don’t lose the forest for the trees, but also, don’t lose the trees for the forest. I’m not destroying the law, I’m fulfilling the law. And through me, I want you to live by the law as well. In fact, I’m going to explain and tighten up the spirit of the law now.
We need to see the parallel here: God gave Moses and the people the law after he had established his relationship with them. he had proven his love, proven his power. Proven himself. the people ASKED to be directed in how to live in the promised land and in relationship with God. He answered them. he gave them the commands.
Jesus has proven himself to the people. He has brought to them the power of the kingdom of heaven. he has invited them to enter into a relationship with himself. the people listened, they followed. They asked how to live. Jesus begins to teach them. He begins to show them how to live out of this new paradigm, this new relationship.
Jesus is going to hit 6 things that had immense relevance to his people. These are six areas of live to which there were laws attached. They might be far removed from us because we have advanced so much as a culture and as people. Still, he deals with these archaic things of:
- Anger and murder
- Lust and marital infidelity
- Divorce
- Oaths and lying
- Revenge
- Finally, making peace in a war-torn world
Counselors today talk about Deep Psychology, or depth psychology. This was the school of thought developed by people like Sigmund freud and Carl Jung. In the most basic definition, depth psychology says that our psyche is made up of conscious and unconscious parts. I order to understand our behavior and cognitive approach to life, we much get deep into this unconscious or sub-consious. But more, there is healing power found in uncovering and reveal our deeper, sub-conscious level motives.
In a similar way of thinking, but this is something else entirely, Jesus is going to push us towards a king of deep religion. A religion that goes so deep it’s gets in us, it changes us from the inside out. It changes not just what we do, but who we are. Not just out outward, but the inner heart and motivations.
This week- no fun, fancy tight ending. Rather, I'm intentionally leaving it messy. You need to read the six sections of Matthew 5. Then wrestle with it. Which one is touching your life, or the life of someone you love. Focus on that section. Work it out...
Monday, July 6, 2009
MANIFESTO- Week 3
DISCLAIMER: my manuscripts are written with the intention of preaching. There will be spelling errors and grammatical mistakes! But I hope you'll still enjoy!
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Malcolm Gladwell has written some great stuff. I just read his latest book, “Outliers: The Story of Success.” Every hockey player will want to read the first chapter- it will blow your mind! What is an outlier? It is defined as something that is situated away from or classified differently from a main or related body. 2. A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample. Hold onto that first part- “classified differently from a related body.”
He begins his book with a story, and one particularly fascinating to me- for it tells the story of a town not far from where I grew up in Pennsylvania. In 1882 a group of 11 men left Roseto, Italy for New York. They landed and migrated west until they found work in a slate quarry near Bangor, PA. The follow year 15 more Rosetans joined them. by 1894 some 1200 Rosetans were applying for passports- entire streets in Roseto were left abandoned, whole communities were virtually transplanted to PA.
The Rosetans were buying up land in the rocky Hillside of PA. They called their little town New Italy, but eventually just started calling it Roseto, since nearly everyone was from Roseto. Soon there was a vibrant Church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and schools. The people built homes and raise animals, opened shops, bakeries, garment factories and the like. Walking down the street in 1900 you would have thought you were in Roseto Italy. Few would have heard about Roseto if not for Stewart Wolf.
Through a serendipitous series of events Wolf came to study the town and people of Roseto for for one almost off handed, but remarkable observation- nobody from Rosetos under the age of 65 ever seemed to have heart disease. Wolf investigated and discovered that sure enough, the death rate in Roseto was 35% lower than to be expected. There was no suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, little crime, no one was on welfare, no one got ulcers. The people were living to a ripe old age, then simply dying of old age. They thought it had to do with the diet. They soon discovered that the people of Roseto did in fact have a remarkable diet. 41% of the average persons calories came from fat. They had switched from olive oil to lard, thin crust to bread dough, enjoyed meats and deserts in copious amounts! If anything, the only visible problem was obesity! These folks should have been dropping like flies.
But as they studied the townspeople they began to take note of some differences in life in Roseto- people were always visiting each other and bringing food. Many homes were filled with three generations represented under one roof, crowded by our standards. Nearly the entire town celebrated Mass together every week. They noted 22 civic organizations. There was an egalitarian ethos in the area whereby the wealthy did not flaunt their wealth, the needy were brought into the norm, and everyone respected their elders. The people of Roseto were healthy for not other reason, that they could observe, than they were from Roseto.
Roseto was an Outlier. It did not fit the mold. It was outside the main body. It opened the eyes of the medical field to begin looking not just at an individuals health, but the health of a community, and the role of the community on health.
Let me propose to you, piggy backing on Gladwell’s paradigm, that we as Christians, both individually, and as a community of believers, are called by God to be Outliers. To be in the world like everyone else is in the world, but in some significant ways we are to different, unique, set apart.
Our first week I ended with what I thought was a very profound statement designed to make you think. I said that just about the WORST thing anyone could say to someone who claims to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus is, you are just like everyone else. That is fundamental betrayal of what God is trying to do in our lives. That totally missed the the point of being blessed to be a blessing. That totally missed the point of what God has be doing ever since he called Abram. He told us we are to be a blessing to the world. Like Roseto, set apart and different in a way that is good. He has been calling people to be different, to be set apart, to be holy, to be Outliers.
But what exactly does that difference look like? How are we to be Outliers? How to we relate to the main body, the world? How are we set apart, and what should set us apart? People have been trying to figure this out for literally centuries.
Let me give you another lesson from another writer, Reinhold Neibuhr. He wrote a book that has framed this discussion for over half a century now. His book, Christ and Culture, took a serious look at the way Christians have understood and interpreted their place, their role, in the world.
He sets up a framework with the two extremes: At one end he places the extreme Outliers- the “Christ against Culture” approach. This is the extreme form of Christian separatist movements. Into this camp he would place such movements at the monastics, who lived separately from much of the world. Post reformation he would place in this group the anabaptists, the Mennonites and Amish. Basically, these are groups of Christians who by design or over time withdrawn from much of what we call the dominate culture around them, and create their own culture and society.
At the other end we find the “Christ of Culture” camp. Perhaps we’d call these guys the “Inliers” totally a part of the system. In this group being a Christian, or a part of the church, is so intertwined with the dominant culture, that one would hardly be able to distinguish between the two, nor should they even really try, because the culture is in fact the church, the people of God. This camp is associated with the mainline churches, or perhaps we might say, though it’s now a very loaded word, liberal church.
In between he has three camps- “Christ above Culture,” close to the Christ against Camp, but sees a place for more integration. In the middle is “Christ and Culture in Paradox.” This camp says I can see value in both a separate church culture, and in integrating with the world. I have to hold that in a paradoxical tension. The next, and the one the Niebuhr is biased toward, and the one he wants us to be biased toward, is “Christ the Transformer of Culture.” The fully devoted Christ follower is called to make a different in the world by have and transformative effect. We are called to a ministry of reconciliation in the world. We are the body of Christ, the ambassadors of Christ. Neibuhr stacks the deck in favor of this position.
But after a half century of analysis and discussion we can readily see how subjective this paradigm is to our cultural experience. In fact, we see that we must all see ourselves, and the church, on the spectrum. For example- when is it that many Christians withdraw from society and come against culture? When the dominate culture is against the church. Why did the anabaptists withdrawn from the world? It has something to do with their beliefs and interpretation of the bible, but practically speaking, it has more to do with the fact that they were being hunted down, persecuted and killed. I’ll speak for myself to say that if the authorities were trying to kill me for my beliefs, I may tend to withdraw from the culture.
But now let’s look at the other end, what happens when some Christian value or ideal becomes integrated into public life? Do we say, well, it’s a value of ours to withdraw from culture, so even though the culture is pretty good, let’s just leave because that’s what we do. No! When we see the church making a profound difference within the dominate culture we can celebrate! When the culture says let’s care for the needy, the church should say right on! When the culture says let’s support honest pay for an honest day of work, let's figure out how to structure the economy that way!
The point is this- and this is what most everyone agrees on now- Neibuhr is right- we have to transform the culture. Let’s just all embrace that title. But now let’s give some space and grace to understand that the way we will transform culture is going to look very different for different people, in different places and at different times. Some will be called to be integrated into the culture, transforming things from the inside out. At the same time someone might stand just outside what we would call the dominant culture, proclaiming an alternative culture and way of being and doing things. Maybe it’s not about labeling or avoiding the extremes. Maybe it’s about agreeing that the best way to transform the culture and the world around us is to approach it from as many angles as possible. Is there a place for the Christ follower in politics? IN most every case, yes! Is there a place for a house of prayer set up on the edge of the culture for people to nurture a relationship with God in quiet? I sure hope so. Will different Christ followers lean toward different expressions? I sure hope so! Can the blessed life in Christ look different for different people? Of course.
This is what it boils down to- we do the stuff Jesus does when we become the people Jesus invites us to become. Jesus will now make this abundantly clear. He wants us to become a certain kind of people that bring transformation where we go. The kind of people he wants us to be- salt and light.
Let me read out passage for today...(Matthew 5:13-16)
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Salt and light make a difference in people’s lives and in the world. Salt and light are necessary regardless of the time, the culture, the economy. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, they all need salt and light. And everything that salt and light touches is in fact transformed.
Salt had two primary qualities for which it virtually changed life in the ancient world- first, it halted decay, and second, it added flavor. It is hard for us now to imagine the almost magical power of salt when it was discovered that it could actually keep meat from rotting. Until then, it was hand to mouth. But with the discovery of salt, all of the sudden what was once doomed to rot, was now preserved. The Romans used to pay their soldiers in salt, which is why to this day we call it a salary- same root word. They started salting their vegetables, which is why we call it a salad. And when someone is comes to Jesus, and gives their life to him, when we come to him and say Jesus, I have sinned, I have done wrong, I feel like a rotten person and I can’t seem to save myself, we come to Jesus and he offers us... a salt lick. No, salvation. Our lives are saved once they are in him. Like a chunk of rotting meat, the decay is halted, and our lives are saved. We experience salvation. Isn’t that wild- I’ll bet most of you never thought about it that way.
Not only does salt preserve, it adds taste. It adds flavor. It brings spice to life. And that the awesome side effect of having our lives in Jesus, not only do we have salvation, but now we are all so savory! We taste good! I remember as a kid hearing my mom say I could just eat you up! I thought that was so weird. Then I had kids, and now there are times when I literally want to eat them! They look so good to me, they make my mouth water, I’ve actually bitten my kids on occasion! That’s how the world should see us when we are being like salt in the world. We should look that tasty and good!
And so Jesus is saying that all of you can bring a quality of preservation into the rot of this world. We can bring flavor into the bland existence of so many who are looking for life. But let me add this observation- too much salt starts to become a bad thing. There are few things worse than an over-salted meal. There are times when we get too wrapped up with other Christians and in only church stuff. It is possible to be too salty. When that happen, it’s time to dissipate the salt again.
And that’s one of the most amazing properties of salt. You put fresh water and salt water together and what are you going to get- salt water. It will penetrate and permeate everything. Thus we must constantly be pouring ourselves out in fresh ways, in untouched and untapped areas. And when we do, we can’t help but bring the salvation and flavor of life in Jesus.
Light transforms as well. In fact, it the very nature of light to change things. I learned about the power of light through caving. I used to take students to a cave all the time. What I discovered is that students were less afraid of crawling underground in in dirty tight, cold places, than they were afraid of the dark. As long as you had your light, you were fine. But when I would have them turn off their lights, they would freak out. My favorite object lesson was simply this- to have them turn out their lights. To be consumed with the darkness for a few minutes, then I’d light a match. It was amazing the transforming power of the light. One tiny little match, and I would instantly have everyone's attention. You could not help but look at that light. It was salvation, it was hope, it was a way out. It meant everything. And that’s the power of the light- darkness has to flee. It can’t overcome the light. Even a tiny light, in a dark place wins the battle.
They other lesson I loved from caving, was the final revelation of light. After a few hours of caving, coming out into the daylight, the students would then see for themselves what I knew all along- they were filthy! After crawling around all that time they would be covered in mud from head to toe- they were gross.
And now what I’m NOT saying is that everyone without Christi is dirty and gross. I’m saying that when Christ’s light shines on us, we see ourselves for what we truly are- we are in need of cleansing. We need to be washed clean.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Jerusalem, the holy city, is perched on a hill. It cannot be hidden. And that’s the point of the location. It is to be a beacon of light to the world. You don;t light a lamp and cover it up- you raise it up, you want the light to penetrate all the darkness. Light a match lit in the dark, it will draw people in. And once people are in, when the are in the presence of the light, they will naturally see their need for cleansing. They will see that they need to cleansing and forgiveness of Jesus Christ in their lives.
Jesus closes this thought by saying in the same way let you light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Jesus begins his message with the blessed announcements. These describe for the the essential character of the fully-devoted Christ follower. Then he moves into these metaphors which describe our influence in the world. And when we are the kind of influence on the world that Christ calls us to be, when we are as salt and light, the world around can’t help but give glory NOT to us, but to God in heaven.
We should pause on this progression long enough to be awed by it’s brilliance. We come to Jesus, we sit at his feet, we give our lives to him, and he transforms our character. We become poor in spirit, we mourn the death and pain in the world, we humble ourselves, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we are made merciful, pure, peacemakers, we are even persecuted for our pursuit of the kingdom. With transformed hearts and lives, with Christ in us, we are different kinds of people. We are like salt. we are like light. What does salt and light do- we transform everything we come in contact with. We save what is lost to decay. We flavor what is bland. We penetrate the darkness. We attract like moths to a fire. We reveal what really is.
We’re gonna have some fun to close this one- the ushers are going to hand out some glow sticks. Please resist the urge to break them! We are going to turn out the lights. We’ll pause for a moment and let the darkness consume us- then I’m going to say a prayer and we’ll break out sticks. The band will play a song, and we’ll let our lights shine!
___
Malcolm Gladwell has written some great stuff. I just read his latest book, “Outliers: The Story of Success.” Every hockey player will want to read the first chapter- it will blow your mind! What is an outlier? It is defined as something that is situated away from or classified differently from a main or related body. 2. A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample. Hold onto that first part- “classified differently from a related body.”
He begins his book with a story, and one particularly fascinating to me- for it tells the story of a town not far from where I grew up in Pennsylvania. In 1882 a group of 11 men left Roseto, Italy for New York. They landed and migrated west until they found work in a slate quarry near Bangor, PA. The follow year 15 more Rosetans joined them. by 1894 some 1200 Rosetans were applying for passports- entire streets in Roseto were left abandoned, whole communities were virtually transplanted to PA.
The Rosetans were buying up land in the rocky Hillside of PA. They called their little town New Italy, but eventually just started calling it Roseto, since nearly everyone was from Roseto. Soon there was a vibrant Church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and schools. The people built homes and raise animals, opened shops, bakeries, garment factories and the like. Walking down the street in 1900 you would have thought you were in Roseto Italy. Few would have heard about Roseto if not for Stewart Wolf.
Through a serendipitous series of events Wolf came to study the town and people of Roseto for for one almost off handed, but remarkable observation- nobody from Rosetos under the age of 65 ever seemed to have heart disease. Wolf investigated and discovered that sure enough, the death rate in Roseto was 35% lower than to be expected. There was no suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, little crime, no one was on welfare, no one got ulcers. The people were living to a ripe old age, then simply dying of old age. They thought it had to do with the diet. They soon discovered that the people of Roseto did in fact have a remarkable diet. 41% of the average persons calories came from fat. They had switched from olive oil to lard, thin crust to bread dough, enjoyed meats and deserts in copious amounts! If anything, the only visible problem was obesity! These folks should have been dropping like flies.
But as they studied the townspeople they began to take note of some differences in life in Roseto- people were always visiting each other and bringing food. Many homes were filled with three generations represented under one roof, crowded by our standards. Nearly the entire town celebrated Mass together every week. They noted 22 civic organizations. There was an egalitarian ethos in the area whereby the wealthy did not flaunt their wealth, the needy were brought into the norm, and everyone respected their elders. The people of Roseto were healthy for not other reason, that they could observe, than they were from Roseto.
Roseto was an Outlier. It did not fit the mold. It was outside the main body. It opened the eyes of the medical field to begin looking not just at an individuals health, but the health of a community, and the role of the community on health.
Let me propose to you, piggy backing on Gladwell’s paradigm, that we as Christians, both individually, and as a community of believers, are called by God to be Outliers. To be in the world like everyone else is in the world, but in some significant ways we are to different, unique, set apart.
Our first week I ended with what I thought was a very profound statement designed to make you think. I said that just about the WORST thing anyone could say to someone who claims to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus is, you are just like everyone else. That is fundamental betrayal of what God is trying to do in our lives. That totally missed the the point of being blessed to be a blessing. That totally missed the point of what God has be doing ever since he called Abram. He told us we are to be a blessing to the world. Like Roseto, set apart and different in a way that is good. He has been calling people to be different, to be set apart, to be holy, to be Outliers.
But what exactly does that difference look like? How are we to be Outliers? How to we relate to the main body, the world? How are we set apart, and what should set us apart? People have been trying to figure this out for literally centuries.
Let me give you another lesson from another writer, Reinhold Neibuhr. He wrote a book that has framed this discussion for over half a century now. His book, Christ and Culture, took a serious look at the way Christians have understood and interpreted their place, their role, in the world.
He sets up a framework with the two extremes: At one end he places the extreme Outliers- the “Christ against Culture” approach. This is the extreme form of Christian separatist movements. Into this camp he would place such movements at the monastics, who lived separately from much of the world. Post reformation he would place in this group the anabaptists, the Mennonites and Amish. Basically, these are groups of Christians who by design or over time withdrawn from much of what we call the dominate culture around them, and create their own culture and society.
At the other end we find the “Christ of Culture” camp. Perhaps we’d call these guys the “Inliers” totally a part of the system. In this group being a Christian, or a part of the church, is so intertwined with the dominant culture, that one would hardly be able to distinguish between the two, nor should they even really try, because the culture is in fact the church, the people of God. This camp is associated with the mainline churches, or perhaps we might say, though it’s now a very loaded word, liberal church.
In between he has three camps- “Christ above Culture,” close to the Christ against Camp, but sees a place for more integration. In the middle is “Christ and Culture in Paradox.” This camp says I can see value in both a separate church culture, and in integrating with the world. I have to hold that in a paradoxical tension. The next, and the one the Niebuhr is biased toward, and the one he wants us to be biased toward, is “Christ the Transformer of Culture.” The fully devoted Christ follower is called to make a different in the world by have and transformative effect. We are called to a ministry of reconciliation in the world. We are the body of Christ, the ambassadors of Christ. Neibuhr stacks the deck in favor of this position.
But after a half century of analysis and discussion we can readily see how subjective this paradigm is to our cultural experience. In fact, we see that we must all see ourselves, and the church, on the spectrum. For example- when is it that many Christians withdraw from society and come against culture? When the dominate culture is against the church. Why did the anabaptists withdrawn from the world? It has something to do with their beliefs and interpretation of the bible, but practically speaking, it has more to do with the fact that they were being hunted down, persecuted and killed. I’ll speak for myself to say that if the authorities were trying to kill me for my beliefs, I may tend to withdraw from the culture.
But now let’s look at the other end, what happens when some Christian value or ideal becomes integrated into public life? Do we say, well, it’s a value of ours to withdraw from culture, so even though the culture is pretty good, let’s just leave because that’s what we do. No! When we see the church making a profound difference within the dominate culture we can celebrate! When the culture says let’s care for the needy, the church should say right on! When the culture says let’s support honest pay for an honest day of work, let's figure out how to structure the economy that way!
The point is this- and this is what most everyone agrees on now- Neibuhr is right- we have to transform the culture. Let’s just all embrace that title. But now let’s give some space and grace to understand that the way we will transform culture is going to look very different for different people, in different places and at different times. Some will be called to be integrated into the culture, transforming things from the inside out. At the same time someone might stand just outside what we would call the dominant culture, proclaiming an alternative culture and way of being and doing things. Maybe it’s not about labeling or avoiding the extremes. Maybe it’s about agreeing that the best way to transform the culture and the world around us is to approach it from as many angles as possible. Is there a place for the Christ follower in politics? IN most every case, yes! Is there a place for a house of prayer set up on the edge of the culture for people to nurture a relationship with God in quiet? I sure hope so. Will different Christ followers lean toward different expressions? I sure hope so! Can the blessed life in Christ look different for different people? Of course.
This is what it boils down to- we do the stuff Jesus does when we become the people Jesus invites us to become. Jesus will now make this abundantly clear. He wants us to become a certain kind of people that bring transformation where we go. The kind of people he wants us to be- salt and light.
Let me read out passage for today...(Matthew 5:13-16)
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Salt and light make a difference in people’s lives and in the world. Salt and light are necessary regardless of the time, the culture, the economy. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, they all need salt and light. And everything that salt and light touches is in fact transformed.
Salt had two primary qualities for which it virtually changed life in the ancient world- first, it halted decay, and second, it added flavor. It is hard for us now to imagine the almost magical power of salt when it was discovered that it could actually keep meat from rotting. Until then, it was hand to mouth. But with the discovery of salt, all of the sudden what was once doomed to rot, was now preserved. The Romans used to pay their soldiers in salt, which is why to this day we call it a salary- same root word. They started salting their vegetables, which is why we call it a salad. And when someone is comes to Jesus, and gives their life to him, when we come to him and say Jesus, I have sinned, I have done wrong, I feel like a rotten person and I can’t seem to save myself, we come to Jesus and he offers us... a salt lick. No, salvation. Our lives are saved once they are in him. Like a chunk of rotting meat, the decay is halted, and our lives are saved. We experience salvation. Isn’t that wild- I’ll bet most of you never thought about it that way.
Not only does salt preserve, it adds taste. It adds flavor. It brings spice to life. And that the awesome side effect of having our lives in Jesus, not only do we have salvation, but now we are all so savory! We taste good! I remember as a kid hearing my mom say I could just eat you up! I thought that was so weird. Then I had kids, and now there are times when I literally want to eat them! They look so good to me, they make my mouth water, I’ve actually bitten my kids on occasion! That’s how the world should see us when we are being like salt in the world. We should look that tasty and good!
And so Jesus is saying that all of you can bring a quality of preservation into the rot of this world. We can bring flavor into the bland existence of so many who are looking for life. But let me add this observation- too much salt starts to become a bad thing. There are few things worse than an over-salted meal. There are times when we get too wrapped up with other Christians and in only church stuff. It is possible to be too salty. When that happen, it’s time to dissipate the salt again.
And that’s one of the most amazing properties of salt. You put fresh water and salt water together and what are you going to get- salt water. It will penetrate and permeate everything. Thus we must constantly be pouring ourselves out in fresh ways, in untouched and untapped areas. And when we do, we can’t help but bring the salvation and flavor of life in Jesus.
Light transforms as well. In fact, it the very nature of light to change things. I learned about the power of light through caving. I used to take students to a cave all the time. What I discovered is that students were less afraid of crawling underground in in dirty tight, cold places, than they were afraid of the dark. As long as you had your light, you were fine. But when I would have them turn off their lights, they would freak out. My favorite object lesson was simply this- to have them turn out their lights. To be consumed with the darkness for a few minutes, then I’d light a match. It was amazing the transforming power of the light. One tiny little match, and I would instantly have everyone's attention. You could not help but look at that light. It was salvation, it was hope, it was a way out. It meant everything. And that’s the power of the light- darkness has to flee. It can’t overcome the light. Even a tiny light, in a dark place wins the battle.
They other lesson I loved from caving, was the final revelation of light. After a few hours of caving, coming out into the daylight, the students would then see for themselves what I knew all along- they were filthy! After crawling around all that time they would be covered in mud from head to toe- they were gross.
And now what I’m NOT saying is that everyone without Christi is dirty and gross. I’m saying that when Christ’s light shines on us, we see ourselves for what we truly are- we are in need of cleansing. We need to be washed clean.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Jerusalem, the holy city, is perched on a hill. It cannot be hidden. And that’s the point of the location. It is to be a beacon of light to the world. You don;t light a lamp and cover it up- you raise it up, you want the light to penetrate all the darkness. Light a match lit in the dark, it will draw people in. And once people are in, when the are in the presence of the light, they will naturally see their need for cleansing. They will see that they need to cleansing and forgiveness of Jesus Christ in their lives.
Jesus closes this thought by saying in the same way let you light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Jesus begins his message with the blessed announcements. These describe for the the essential character of the fully-devoted Christ follower. Then he moves into these metaphors which describe our influence in the world. And when we are the kind of influence on the world that Christ calls us to be, when we are as salt and light, the world around can’t help but give glory NOT to us, but to God in heaven.
We should pause on this progression long enough to be awed by it’s brilliance. We come to Jesus, we sit at his feet, we give our lives to him, and he transforms our character. We become poor in spirit, we mourn the death and pain in the world, we humble ourselves, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we are made merciful, pure, peacemakers, we are even persecuted for our pursuit of the kingdom. With transformed hearts and lives, with Christ in us, we are different kinds of people. We are like salt. we are like light. What does salt and light do- we transform everything we come in contact with. We save what is lost to decay. We flavor what is bland. We penetrate the darkness. We attract like moths to a fire. We reveal what really is.
We’re gonna have some fun to close this one- the ushers are going to hand out some glow sticks. Please resist the urge to break them! We are going to turn out the lights. We’ll pause for a moment and let the darkness consume us- then I’m going to say a prayer and we’ll break out sticks. The band will play a song, and we’ll let our lights shine!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Resolutions Worth Keeping: Stay Pure
Connections Community Church
January 13, 2008
Last Sunday (it feels so good to say last Sunday instead of last time we meet) we started our new year, new launch, new church series on “Resolutions Worth Keeping.” This isn’t about New Years resolutions per say. Resolutions may happen at a dawn of a new year, at a time of transition in your life, at a time of trial in your life. This is about being people, and a church, with resolve.
Last week we began to unpack a biblical concept of resolutions. To have resolve is “to be fixed on a purpose, it is the decision to do or not do certain things.” We need resolutions in our lives and in our church. Unless of course we think we’re perfect, if there’s nothing we want to change about ourselves, if we have no goals, no hopes no dreams.
But if we are going to grow as men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and father, students, professionals, athletes, musicians, artists, whatever- if we want to reach goals for our work, for our families, for our spiritual lives, for our personal lives, we need resolve. We need to be fixed on these purposes. We need to make decision to do and not do certain things to reach our goals.
If we are not on a path of growth, we are on a path of plateau, or worse, death. If you are on a path of plateau or death, then this really isn’t going to be a very meaningful sermon, meaningful series, or a meaningful church for you. Because we are not dying, we are just being born. We are truly still in the pains of child birth. When I look at what I pray Connections will be, we've hardly taken our first step. We have every possible area to grow in. All we have are goals that we want to reach. All we have is resolve. All we have is the will to do something, to be something, to be fixed on the purposes of connecting with God, with people, with our world.
Last week the starting resolution for our church and the life of the Christ-follower was to seek God. This is where we begin as a church for this is one of the major themes of the bible. I encouraged everyone to put to memory a verse last week. This is something I will do regularly. To try and give you a scripture to memorize that captures the whole sermon. Last week it was Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” I hope you set that in your hearts, pray it often, hear God speaking that promise to you in the morning, as you drive, when you sit down for a cup of coffee.
Today we move to the next resolution worth every one of us keeping- STAY PURE. What we are going to discover is that this follows naturally on the heels of the first. In order for us to seek God with all of our heart, we must have a pure heart- a heart undivided. A heart purely set on the things of God. And what we’ll discover is, I pray, two things. First is the purity that can come only a gift from God- the purity of forgiveness and salvation. Then second, the strength that comes from God to pursue purity in all areas of our lives. To receive the gift of purity, then to pursue purity.
This resolution comes to us out of the life a man named Daniel. And if you are a university student here today, I am especially excited for you. This passage is going to rock your world and could change your entire outlook on education and life. (Read Daniel 1:1-8)
In 605 BC, and this isn’t just some biblical yarn without verification- there is corroborating historical evidence outside of the Bible of these kings and these dates- in 605 BC king Nebuchanezzar of Babylon sacked Jerusalem and the land of Judah, deposed of king Jehoiakim, and carried off all the items of worth and spoils of war- including Daniel and his friends. The king ordered that the young men who showed the most promise- the strong, the bright, the good looking, the learned and quick learners, the young men of royalty and noble families, the men like Nathan and Mike, and I’m sure every other guy here, were to be taken to the palace. This is like the bachelorette before there was reality TV. Nebuchanezzar knew exactly what he was doing and whom he wanted.
At the palace he orders Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, his right hand man, to get all these boys together. His job was to teach them the language and the literature of Babylon. These boys were to be fed from King’s own table, given room and board and access to the best education the world had to offer. They were to be trained for three years, and then enter the service of the King.
Wow, we might think, these kids have got it made! But we must understand the significance of what the King is doing. This isn’t some benign act of kindness. He isn’t having second thoughts after sacking another nation and carrying off all its greatest treasures, especially the treasure that is the best and brightest of the coming generation. This isn’t to console his soul after wiping out a nation. This is racial cleansing, assimilation, indoctrination, hey, call it for what it is- brainwashing.
Put yourself in these boys’ shoes. Your nation, your home, your way of life has been destroyed. Your family has probably been killed. You watched as everything was leveled. Even the holy places- especially the holy places, the places that held the symbolic core identity of the entire nation. Everything of worth is carried off. You are spared. You are marched nearly 1000 kilometers to a foreign nation. You have no idea what is to become of you. You are afraid to die, you are afraid to live. You don’t know who you are anymore, they have even changed your name. Instead of having the names of your family, you now have names that reflect the gods of Babylon- Bel, Aku and Nebo. Nebuchanezzar takes these young men and offers them access to an education, job security and a bright future. Brighter, in many ways, than they ever could have dreamed of in Judah.
Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome? When a hostage or captive, because they are so broken down, afraid for their lives, in shock, they begin to actually think of their captors as their liberators. King Nebuchanezzar intends to make his captives believe he is really their savior.
But Daniel sees right through the scheme. He is bright, he is gifted, he is strong, because he knows what’s going on. He sees what the Babylonians are trying to do to him and his friends- learn a new language, forget the ways of the past; learn new literature, for get about the word of God; take on a new name, forget who you are; eat from the kings own table, cast aside everything you knew about your former identity and way of life. And it says that Daniel resolved not to defile himself with anything from the king’s table. He resolved to keep himself pure by not accepting the food and drink from the King’s table.
Taking food from the king’s table was less about eating, and more about association. It was a symbolic gesture. It’s no insignificant matter that the Israelite laws regarding food, what we call being kosher, were the most stringent in the ancient world. Daniel would have grown up faithfully following these practices. And now he’s asked to disregard them completely. The food from Nebuchanezzer’s table was food that was first offered to the gods of Babylon. Nebuchanezzar was inviting the boys to renounce their God, the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, and worship their gods- Marduk, Bel, Aku, Nebo and others, gods who glorified in war and death. He was inviting Daniel the his friends to a new nation, a new way of life and a new religion- and all they had to do was take and eat from his table, and the table of his gods.
Morpheus invites Neo to take the red pill and go home, or the blue pill and venture down the tunnel, into the Matrix. The drug dealer invites the naive orphaned kid to just take one hit. The in-crowd pressures the outcast to just have one drink. The serpent tempts Eve to take just one bite. People have known, for century after century, in culture after culture, in movie after movie that we have seen, the symbolic gesture of taking the offering of food and drink and whole new way of life.
It was an equally symbolic gesture that Daniel said no. I will not defile myself, I will remain pure. It was a symbolic gesture with profound impact on Daniel and the entire kingdom. Daniel and his friends strike a bargain with Ashpenaz and eat only vegetables and drink water for ten days, and ten days later they look better than anyone else- they got stronger, smarter and better looking. They grew in knowledge and understanding. They received visions from God and could interpret dreams. And by the end of the three years they were head of their class. No one was their equal, and they were promoted to the highest positions in the kingdom next to King Nebuchanezzar.
They were the best, the brightest, the most influential. They got the chance to serve God and change the world, even while they were in exile. They seized this opportunity, but they did on their terms, and on God’s terms- they never ate and drank to the gods of Babylon. They never bowed down and worshiped the king or his idols. They never forgot who they were, and whose they were. They never cowed to the materialist, pantheistic culture around them. They took a stand. They made a resolution. And it was a huge risk, a giant risk- a risk that could have easily cost them their lives. But in the end God honored and rewarded their faithfulness.
Folks, here is the million dollar question- do you think the world around us is more like Jerusalem or Babylon? Do you think we’re at home here, or in exile? Now I’m speaking in the big picture here. This isn’t about if you’re from London Ontario, or moved here from somewhere else. I’m talking about our place in the world, your place on earth. Do you sometimes get the feeling that this place, this world, is not really your home? That you were made for something else? That you were made for a different world? A world where maybe, just maybe, you truly felt at home, because in that world, you always felt close to God. In that world you would always be at peace with your neighbors and other people. In that world you would be at peace with the world itself, not afraid or unable to know how to live sustainably. In that world there would be no more pain, or sickness, or death or tears. In that world you were at peace with yourself.
CS Lewis once said,
The bible uses Jerusalem and Babylon as a metaphor for life here and now. Jerusalem was a image of what the world was supposed to be like- a place where everyone knew and worshiped God, where there was shalom, this peace that characterized all relationships- our relationship with God, with other people, with the creation itself, with ourselves. Jerusalem symbolized life the way it was meant to be lived- a life at home and in connection with God.
Babylon, on the other hand, represents the world as we know and experience it. It represents being outside of home, outside of life the way it was meant to be lived, life outside of a relationship with God, and peace with all people and peace with ourselves. Sin came into our world and our lives. Separation, sickness, evil and death. We became as exiles in the very creation God made for us.
We were made for Jerusalem, but find ourselves in Babylon. And what Daniel and his friends came to understand was this- though life might not be playing out the way we would have liked, though life may not be the way God first created it to be, though life may not be the way it will always be, this is life. And they got on with life. They resolved to get on with life, but to do so in a way that they might remain pure. They were going to live, but they were not going to eat from the kings table.
And that friends is exactly what we are called to do as well. We live our lives in this world that is not our home, not perfect, not the way it’s supposed to be, but we get on with our lives living as purely as we can. Resolve that like Daniel, you will see through the lies and tricks of the world, and you will not be taken in, but will keep yourself pure. Resolve that you will see that so much of the world does not have your best interests at heart- but rather want to use you, abuse you, work you and break you, and cast you aside when you no longer the young and bright and best looking. Resolve that you will take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way- for learning, for education, for advancement. But never, never ever compromise your purity, your virtues, your values, your morals, your God.
Maybe this one is simple for you- maybe it is right from the text- you know, you eat too much and you need to focus on the vegetables. So put down that second big mac, just say no to french fries poutine, get the regular cup of coffee instead to ultra-high fat frappachino with a cup of sugar. Or maybe you need to say no to the wine and drink a little more water. Statistically, more than just a few of you here struggle with alcoholism or drug abuse.
Maybe it is obvious in what areas you need to seek purity- you have to resolve to quit smoking because it really is killing you. You have to resolve to break free from pornography, because it really is killing your ability to relate to women or men in any way that is even remotely healthy, and it’s destroying your studies, your career, you marriage. You must resolve to break free from your ipod- because even too much of good music can be a bad thing. You have to resolve simply to stop watching so much TV, because there’s more to life. You need to resolve not to defile yourself in an inappropriate relationship. So you need to break free, or put on the brakes for a season, or get some counseling, or something.
Now I’m not just preaching, I’m meddling. But if it feels like I’m meddling it is because we can all relate to impurity, and because just maybe God is trying to tell you something. All of us here have a habit, or a hang up, or an indiscretion, something that we’ve done or something that's been done to us that makes us feel dirty, ashamed, unclean, and impure. And we try to stop, but we fail. We try to get past it, but the memory keeps rearing its ugly head. We try to stay pure and seek God, but a voice says you’ll never be clean again. I find that most people are very aware of their own impurities. I probably don’t need to point out the impurities, we just need to get to that place were we can actually face them.
Jesus tells us,
Then second, in the assurance of the purity given to us, we pursue purity in our lives. We seek to stay pure. We resolve to live pure lives because that is the best way to live. We live pure lives because that is the best way to get right with our neighbors and have peace. We live pure lives because that is the best way to care for creation and make a difference in the world. We live pure lives because that is the best thing we can do for ourselves- for our health, for our well being, our emotional wholeness, our sexual wholeness, our spiritual wholeness, our physical wholeness. We live pure lives because we know, we know deep down in our guts, that this is pleasing to God, and the best thing we can do for ourselves, and for our neighbors and for our world.
And when we do, when we start to set our lives right, we start to set the world right. Folks, since purity does matter to God, God is going to help you stay pure. If you want it, if you resolve to pursue it, and if you know God is in it, He’s going to be there. God wants us to live pure lives, He wants us to have pure marriages, He wants us to be a pure people, and if you’re willing to work on it, God’s going to help.
Friends, there are two tables for you to eat from, the table of Babylon, or Jerusalem. The table of the kingdoms of this world, or the table of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, brought his followers to a table. And there he offered those young men food and drink. He offered them a broken loaf of bread, and new wine. But he told them straightaway that this meal, the table, had a symbolic meaning, deeper than anything they had ever experienced before. This bread way his body, broken for them. This wine was his blood, shed for them. He invited them, take and eat, take and drink. Take my body, and become part of me. Take my blood, and be forgiven all your sins.
Friends, in our lives there are two tables set our before us. Come to the table of our Lord Jesus Christ, forget about your old way of life- the ways of sin and life apart from God, and come to a new King, a new Lord, a new God, the God and Father of our savior Jesus. Take from his table- take and eat, take and drink.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” I pray that this year, that right now, you resolve to stay pure- receive the gift of purity that comes only from God, receive the strength to live pure lives that comes only from God. Like Daniel, see through the lies and advances of this world. Grab every opportunity that comes your way, but name the false gods for what they are, and refuse to have anything to do with them! Seek God, stay pure and you will see Him. You will see Him.
January 13, 2008
Last Sunday (it feels so good to say last Sunday instead of last time we meet) we started our new year, new launch, new church series on “Resolutions Worth Keeping.” This isn’t about New Years resolutions per say. Resolutions may happen at a dawn of a new year, at a time of transition in your life, at a time of trial in your life. This is about being people, and a church, with resolve.
Last week we began to unpack a biblical concept of resolutions. To have resolve is “to be fixed on a purpose, it is the decision to do or not do certain things.” We need resolutions in our lives and in our church. Unless of course we think we’re perfect, if there’s nothing we want to change about ourselves, if we have no goals, no hopes no dreams.
But if we are going to grow as men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and father, students, professionals, athletes, musicians, artists, whatever- if we want to reach goals for our work, for our families, for our spiritual lives, for our personal lives, we need resolve. We need to be fixed on these purposes. We need to make decision to do and not do certain things to reach our goals.
If we are not on a path of growth, we are on a path of plateau, or worse, death. If you are on a path of plateau or death, then this really isn’t going to be a very meaningful sermon, meaningful series, or a meaningful church for you. Because we are not dying, we are just being born. We are truly still in the pains of child birth. When I look at what I pray Connections will be, we've hardly taken our first step. We have every possible area to grow in. All we have are goals that we want to reach. All we have is resolve. All we have is the will to do something, to be something, to be fixed on the purposes of connecting with God, with people, with our world.
Last week the starting resolution for our church and the life of the Christ-follower was to seek God. This is where we begin as a church for this is one of the major themes of the bible. I encouraged everyone to put to memory a verse last week. This is something I will do regularly. To try and give you a scripture to memorize that captures the whole sermon. Last week it was Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” I hope you set that in your hearts, pray it often, hear God speaking that promise to you in the morning, as you drive, when you sit down for a cup of coffee.
Today we move to the next resolution worth every one of us keeping- STAY PURE. What we are going to discover is that this follows naturally on the heels of the first. In order for us to seek God with all of our heart, we must have a pure heart- a heart undivided. A heart purely set on the things of God. And what we’ll discover is, I pray, two things. First is the purity that can come only a gift from God- the purity of forgiveness and salvation. Then second, the strength that comes from God to pursue purity in all areas of our lives. To receive the gift of purity, then to pursue purity.
This resolution comes to us out of the life a man named Daniel. And if you are a university student here today, I am especially excited for you. This passage is going to rock your world and could change your entire outlook on education and life. (Read Daniel 1:1-8)
In 605 BC, and this isn’t just some biblical yarn without verification- there is corroborating historical evidence outside of the Bible of these kings and these dates- in 605 BC king Nebuchanezzar of Babylon sacked Jerusalem and the land of Judah, deposed of king Jehoiakim, and carried off all the items of worth and spoils of war- including Daniel and his friends. The king ordered that the young men who showed the most promise- the strong, the bright, the good looking, the learned and quick learners, the young men of royalty and noble families, the men like Nathan and Mike, and I’m sure every other guy here, were to be taken to the palace. This is like the bachelorette before there was reality TV. Nebuchanezzar knew exactly what he was doing and whom he wanted.
At the palace he orders Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, his right hand man, to get all these boys together. His job was to teach them the language and the literature of Babylon. These boys were to be fed from King’s own table, given room and board and access to the best education the world had to offer. They were to be trained for three years, and then enter the service of the King.
Wow, we might think, these kids have got it made! But we must understand the significance of what the King is doing. This isn’t some benign act of kindness. He isn’t having second thoughts after sacking another nation and carrying off all its greatest treasures, especially the treasure that is the best and brightest of the coming generation. This isn’t to console his soul after wiping out a nation. This is racial cleansing, assimilation, indoctrination, hey, call it for what it is- brainwashing.
Put yourself in these boys’ shoes. Your nation, your home, your way of life has been destroyed. Your family has probably been killed. You watched as everything was leveled. Even the holy places- especially the holy places, the places that held the symbolic core identity of the entire nation. Everything of worth is carried off. You are spared. You are marched nearly 1000 kilometers to a foreign nation. You have no idea what is to become of you. You are afraid to die, you are afraid to live. You don’t know who you are anymore, they have even changed your name. Instead of having the names of your family, you now have names that reflect the gods of Babylon- Bel, Aku and Nebo. Nebuchanezzar takes these young men and offers them access to an education, job security and a bright future. Brighter, in many ways, than they ever could have dreamed of in Judah.
Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome? When a hostage or captive, because they are so broken down, afraid for their lives, in shock, they begin to actually think of their captors as their liberators. King Nebuchanezzar intends to make his captives believe he is really their savior.
But Daniel sees right through the scheme. He is bright, he is gifted, he is strong, because he knows what’s going on. He sees what the Babylonians are trying to do to him and his friends- learn a new language, forget the ways of the past; learn new literature, for get about the word of God; take on a new name, forget who you are; eat from the kings own table, cast aside everything you knew about your former identity and way of life. And it says that Daniel resolved not to defile himself with anything from the king’s table. He resolved to keep himself pure by not accepting the food and drink from the King’s table.
Taking food from the king’s table was less about eating, and more about association. It was a symbolic gesture. It’s no insignificant matter that the Israelite laws regarding food, what we call being kosher, were the most stringent in the ancient world. Daniel would have grown up faithfully following these practices. And now he’s asked to disregard them completely. The food from Nebuchanezzer’s table was food that was first offered to the gods of Babylon. Nebuchanezzar was inviting the boys to renounce their God, the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, and worship their gods- Marduk, Bel, Aku, Nebo and others, gods who glorified in war and death. He was inviting Daniel the his friends to a new nation, a new way of life and a new religion- and all they had to do was take and eat from his table, and the table of his gods.
Morpheus invites Neo to take the red pill and go home, or the blue pill and venture down the tunnel, into the Matrix. The drug dealer invites the naive orphaned kid to just take one hit. The in-crowd pressures the outcast to just have one drink. The serpent tempts Eve to take just one bite. People have known, for century after century, in culture after culture, in movie after movie that we have seen, the symbolic gesture of taking the offering of food and drink and whole new way of life.
It was an equally symbolic gesture that Daniel said no. I will not defile myself, I will remain pure. It was a symbolic gesture with profound impact on Daniel and the entire kingdom. Daniel and his friends strike a bargain with Ashpenaz and eat only vegetables and drink water for ten days, and ten days later they look better than anyone else- they got stronger, smarter and better looking. They grew in knowledge and understanding. They received visions from God and could interpret dreams. And by the end of the three years they were head of their class. No one was their equal, and they were promoted to the highest positions in the kingdom next to King Nebuchanezzar.
They were the best, the brightest, the most influential. They got the chance to serve God and change the world, even while they were in exile. They seized this opportunity, but they did on their terms, and on God’s terms- they never ate and drank to the gods of Babylon. They never bowed down and worshiped the king or his idols. They never forgot who they were, and whose they were. They never cowed to the materialist, pantheistic culture around them. They took a stand. They made a resolution. And it was a huge risk, a giant risk- a risk that could have easily cost them their lives. But in the end God honored and rewarded their faithfulness.
Folks, here is the million dollar question- do you think the world around us is more like Jerusalem or Babylon? Do you think we’re at home here, or in exile? Now I’m speaking in the big picture here. This isn’t about if you’re from London Ontario, or moved here from somewhere else. I’m talking about our place in the world, your place on earth. Do you sometimes get the feeling that this place, this world, is not really your home? That you were made for something else? That you were made for a different world? A world where maybe, just maybe, you truly felt at home, because in that world, you always felt close to God. In that world you would always be at peace with your neighbors and other people. In that world you would be at peace with the world itself, not afraid or unable to know how to live sustainably. In that world there would be no more pain, or sickness, or death or tears. In that world you were at peace with yourself.
CS Lewis once said,
"If I find in myself certain desires that nothing in this world seems to satisfy, the only logical conclusion is that I was made for a different world.”Speaking for myself, I feel like I was made for a different world, a better world, a world of perfect peace and justice and beauty.
The bible uses Jerusalem and Babylon as a metaphor for life here and now. Jerusalem was a image of what the world was supposed to be like- a place where everyone knew and worshiped God, where there was shalom, this peace that characterized all relationships- our relationship with God, with other people, with the creation itself, with ourselves. Jerusalem symbolized life the way it was meant to be lived- a life at home and in connection with God.
Babylon, on the other hand, represents the world as we know and experience it. It represents being outside of home, outside of life the way it was meant to be lived, life outside of a relationship with God, and peace with all people and peace with ourselves. Sin came into our world and our lives. Separation, sickness, evil and death. We became as exiles in the very creation God made for us.
We were made for Jerusalem, but find ourselves in Babylon. And what Daniel and his friends came to understand was this- though life might not be playing out the way we would have liked, though life may not be the way God first created it to be, though life may not be the way it will always be, this is life. And they got on with life. They resolved to get on with life, but to do so in a way that they might remain pure. They were going to live, but they were not going to eat from the kings table.
And that friends is exactly what we are called to do as well. We live our lives in this world that is not our home, not perfect, not the way it’s supposed to be, but we get on with our lives living as purely as we can. Resolve that like Daniel, you will see through the lies and tricks of the world, and you will not be taken in, but will keep yourself pure. Resolve that you will see that so much of the world does not have your best interests at heart- but rather want to use you, abuse you, work you and break you, and cast you aside when you no longer the young and bright and best looking. Resolve that you will take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way- for learning, for education, for advancement. But never, never ever compromise your purity, your virtues, your values, your morals, your God.
Maybe this one is simple for you- maybe it is right from the text- you know, you eat too much and you need to focus on the vegetables. So put down that second big mac, just say no to french fries poutine, get the regular cup of coffee instead to ultra-high fat frappachino with a cup of sugar. Or maybe you need to say no to the wine and drink a little more water. Statistically, more than just a few of you here struggle with alcoholism or drug abuse.
Maybe it is obvious in what areas you need to seek purity- you have to resolve to quit smoking because it really is killing you. You have to resolve to break free from pornography, because it really is killing your ability to relate to women or men in any way that is even remotely healthy, and it’s destroying your studies, your career, you marriage. You must resolve to break free from your ipod- because even too much of good music can be a bad thing. You have to resolve simply to stop watching so much TV, because there’s more to life. You need to resolve not to defile yourself in an inappropriate relationship. So you need to break free, or put on the brakes for a season, or get some counseling, or something.
Now I’m not just preaching, I’m meddling. But if it feels like I’m meddling it is because we can all relate to impurity, and because just maybe God is trying to tell you something. All of us here have a habit, or a hang up, or an indiscretion, something that we’ve done or something that's been done to us that makes us feel dirty, ashamed, unclean, and impure. And we try to stop, but we fail. We try to get past it, but the memory keeps rearing its ugly head. We try to stay pure and seek God, but a voice says you’ll never be clean again. I find that most people are very aware of their own impurities. I probably don’t need to point out the impurities, we just need to get to that place were we can actually face them.
Jesus tells us,
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”And today, at the end of it all, I want to tell you that you can find purity in God, and you can see God. First, accept the gift of purity that comes only from God, only from Jesus Christ. Freely accept the gift freely offered- to be set right with God, forgiven, cleansed, purified before the holy and pure God. That’s what God offers to us in Jesus Christ- to know that we are pure and forgiven and given eternal life. This is where God shines friends. This is where God is really good- he’s the expert in forgiving, in cleansing, in making impure things pure again. You can find purity in the forgiveness of God. It’s a gift- ask for it, receive it, believe it, live it.
Then second, in the assurance of the purity given to us, we pursue purity in our lives. We seek to stay pure. We resolve to live pure lives because that is the best way to live. We live pure lives because that is the best way to get right with our neighbors and have peace. We live pure lives because that is the best way to care for creation and make a difference in the world. We live pure lives because that is the best thing we can do for ourselves- for our health, for our well being, our emotional wholeness, our sexual wholeness, our spiritual wholeness, our physical wholeness. We live pure lives because we know, we know deep down in our guts, that this is pleasing to God, and the best thing we can do for ourselves, and for our neighbors and for our world.
And when we do, when we start to set our lives right, we start to set the world right. Folks, since purity does matter to God, God is going to help you stay pure. If you want it, if you resolve to pursue it, and if you know God is in it, He’s going to be there. God wants us to live pure lives, He wants us to have pure marriages, He wants us to be a pure people, and if you’re willing to work on it, God’s going to help.
Friends, there are two tables for you to eat from, the table of Babylon, or Jerusalem. The table of the kingdoms of this world, or the table of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, brought his followers to a table. And there he offered those young men food and drink. He offered them a broken loaf of bread, and new wine. But he told them straightaway that this meal, the table, had a symbolic meaning, deeper than anything they had ever experienced before. This bread way his body, broken for them. This wine was his blood, shed for them. He invited them, take and eat, take and drink. Take my body, and become part of me. Take my blood, and be forgiven all your sins.
Friends, in our lives there are two tables set our before us. Come to the table of our Lord Jesus Christ, forget about your old way of life- the ways of sin and life apart from God, and come to a new King, a new Lord, a new God, the God and Father of our savior Jesus. Take from his table- take and eat, take and drink.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” I pray that this year, that right now, you resolve to stay pure- receive the gift of purity that comes only from God, receive the strength to live pure lives that comes only from God. Like Daniel, see through the lies and advances of this world. Grab every opportunity that comes your way, but name the false gods for what they are, and refuse to have anything to do with them! Seek God, stay pure and you will see Him. You will see Him.
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