This message was a 'leftover' from the Fried Chicken & Burritos blog.
Last year when I came to Thornville & Pleasantville I had several months
Last year when I came to Thornville & Pleasantville I had several months
of messages already done. As I approached October, this message was on
the docket, but never got used. Just didn't feel the Lord wanted me to use it.
Until now...
the docket, but never got used. Just didn't feel the Lord wanted me to use it.
Until now...
Don't hide among the chosen.
My daughter is starting to enjoy some of my old Christian contemporary music from the 90's
Last night we were enjoying some Geoff Moore and the Distance, circa 1993.
"Godgottaholdonme" "That's When I Know I'm Home" "Heart to God, Hand to Man"
But, she says, "click on that one Daddy".
I rolled my mouse over the song titles in my Windows Media Player until she says, "Yea, that one. I love that one."
In a fast food restaurant, not long ago
Somewhere in central O-HI-O
I came across a table of 5 or 6 boys
They were just being rowdy and making lots of noise
Then one said, "Hey I got a question for you"
"If we nuked Russia, where'd you go? What'd you do?"
Another one said, "I think I got the solution"
"You see my friends the answer lies in seclusion"
"You get your friends, you gather up some food"
"Pack em in a rocket and you - - Go to the moon"
"Leave this place behind, to live with your own kind"
"Get yourself some piece of mind - - Go to the moon"
- Go To The Moon, Geoff Moore and the Distance, from the album "A Place To Stand", 1988
My girl can pick 'em. She even went back to the 80's!
(Not to mention, this is secretly my favorite GMD song also.)
Separatism.
That's what this song is all about.
Really got the ol brain a rolling.
Took a trip down memory lane.
(These perspectives are simply from my own personal experiences. They do not summarize any one group or denomination as a whole. Your experience may vary depending upon how long you have sat among the chosen.)
I spent 10 years in a holiness denomination.
Reaching the lost for Jesus was central to the way we thought, but fraternizing with people from other denominations was almost frowned upon.
We tended to be separatists in that phase of our Christianity.
We stayed in our own little circle, working with just ourselves.
Now, I'm in the United Methodist Church, and we tend to be very ecumenical.
We do things with people from other denominations, but where is the passion to save the lost?
Do we even know how to define what "lost" means?
In this politically correct world, it's seems troublesome to even define or proclaim what being lost in sin regards.
We tend to be separatists who don't want to get our hands dirty, even for all of our social causes and creeds.
At least that's what I've seen and experienced.
You can tell me I'm wrong, if you'd like.
But this is not just a 'Wesleyan' thing.
It's an all denominational thing.
Hey, if you are 'Baptist' at all, you might have it built right into your ideology.
"You can't find God unless God fore-ordained that you be here in the first place."
"If you are not like us and believe like us, well, we don't socialize with you."
If you are 'non-denominational' now, you have pulled away from any organization.
You probably don't socialize too much with Baptists or Methodists.
You stick to your own little world of Pastor so & so who has a pod-cast.
The idea of other organizations and denominations is, most likely, foreign to you.
Well, if you take it even broader, it's not a 'Baptist' or denominational or church issue.
It's a human thing.
We naturally tend to be separatists.
For some reason we tend to think we can handle things on our own.
We don't need anyone's help. We can do it ourselves.
We don't want anybody telling us what to do, or how to do it, or when to do it.
Look at what we see coming out of Hollywood, on our TVs, in media.
"One man against the world."
We see men, single handedly, taking on an army or corrupt political system.
They do it on their own with little or no help from anyone.
They should get their own television show.
"The Mentalist" Thursdays at 10 PM on CBS
"The Equalizer" "The Closer" "The Young and The Restless"
"He sits in his own pew. He reads his own Bible. He keeps to himself."
During my time in the holiness church, I'm sure I felt more than once that we tended to take our liberties with such scriptures as...
"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." (2 Cor. 6.7)
Now make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives." (Ezra 10.11)
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12.1,2)
What I witnessed in my time is a people who are afraid to have anything to do with the world, to reach out and share the love of God with anyone.
How are we going to bring anybody to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ if we aren't around them, fraternizing with them, socializing in their midst?
So, we use scripture like these ones to keep us separated, to make it sound as if we are supposed to stay away.
"You stay in your camp and I'll stay in mine and we won't have anything to do with each other and that'll be fine."
NO. It's not fine. It's death.
How are we going to keep the church alive if we don't share the love of God with people?
How are we going to keep the doors open on this place if no new people come to be with us?
I've seen it right in the church on Sunday morning.
Some people come in and our regular attendees go over there and the new people sit down and nobody really gets to know them, no one reaches out to them.
The mindset is like, "If you want to be here, fine. If you don't come back, fine. We don't care. I'm going to be here next Sunday where you are or not. I've been in this church for 50 years. I could care less if anybody new darkens the doorway."
Instead of looking for any excuse possible to share the Love of Jesus with others, we actually look for any possible excuse to stay in our own little world and do nothing with anybody else.
It's terrible.
When I read a passage such as Matthew 25, I just can't hang on to any separatism.
Here, Jesus tells his listeners that they should love other people as if they were actually dealing with Jesus, himself. People in prison (spiritual or physical), people who are sick (spiritual or physical), a long detailed outpouring of how we should use our lives to be outpoured for others.
It's too easy to get caught in categorizing sin and how bad it is and then we don't want to socialize with anybody who might 'infect' us with their viewpoint or their personal sins.
We don't even want to hang around with people from other denominations, because their views on certain doctrines might cause us to rethink some things. (Goodness gracious!)
We know what we believe and what we have in front of us we feel is the absolute truth and nobody is going to change that.
Sounds like a pretty lonely life to me.
God didn't call us to be loners.
There is a whole Body of Christ out there needing our hands and feet and eyes and ears.
Our compassion, our sympathy and empathy, our encouragement.
Feels like the wheels are falling off the car because the pit crew is on strike.
The can't see the doctrinal accuracy of using Quaker State over Pennzoil.
I was preaching a revival one time in West Virginia.
Little Nazarene church.
I preached upon the story of the prodigal son.
At the end of the parable is the part about the older brother.
It is clear as a bell what point Jesus is making.
The older brother is cast in role of the religious leaders, who did not want to share their salvation with God.
The word Pharisee literally means "separated one".
They did it in everything.
Racial issues, Economic issues, Social issues.
Anything where they had it in mind that they might be compromising their own personal holiness, they would pull away from general society and keep to themselves.
As I approached the climax of my sermon and the point I was making, the pastor abruptly got up and kind of hip butted me out of the pulpit.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, lets have a word of prayer."
It was my first revival meeting where I preached. I didn't know how to handle that.
So, I played nice and just kept my mouth shut.
Have to know when to pick your battles.
But, as I sit here behind my computer screen some ten years later, I can get on my soap box and let it rail.
Not a lot of comfort food today, folks.
Had a few jalapeños mixed in with my burrito.
The side effects can be a moment of soap-box preaching.
How do we live in the world while somehow being separate from it?
"Love the sinner and hate the sin." - a popular phrase
That seems good, but maybe a little simplistic.
Look a little deeper at what Paul says back in Romans 12, again.
I have heard many a sermon preached from those first two verses.
Be transformed. Renewing of your mind. Living sacrifice. Present yourself to God.
And, then do what?
Sit here and focus on my own personal whiteness?
Better keep the garment clean. We don't want someone else's sin to mess our clothes up.
In my time as a lay person, I can't ever remember anybody really touching on the verses following Romans 12.1,2
Romans 12:3-21
New International Version (NIV)
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love in Action
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.Sounds like we have something to do once we have offered ourselves to God.
Sounds like we need to do more than simply sit back and throw some money or food at the problem while never actually getting our rears out of the pew.
Man, that jalapeño has some serious bite today.
I might have to go get some mouthwash if I want to kiss my wife later.
GMD can close it out today.
Well now before this little story comes to a close
There's just a thing or two I'd like you to know
I believe in fellowship and brotherhood and accountability
And that believer to believer can be encouraging
But if the salt is gonna season - or -
Shine the light in darkened rooms
Don't hide among the chosen
We cannot - - Go to the moon
Leave this place behind
Come back some other time
Get yourself some peace of mind
Go to the moon
But, only if you don't think you can handle it here.
With God, all things are possible.
Geoff Moore and the Distance "Go To The Moon" on Spotify
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