So what's wrong with Jesus? I mean, I've often wondered, is there a specific issue? Is there a real problem? Is there a major obstacle? It seems to me that so many keep a distance from Him, are estranged to Him, are at odds with Him, Jesus.
It's not the same way with God. What's that? It appears that He, God, has more respect, easier access, and greater acceptance. I mean, most of us know we can talk about God, but if you talk about Jesus, something happens, and that thing that happens? It's as if in the world right now, so many want to censor, they want to guard, they want to protect, the world, from, “Jesus.” Jesus?
Even for a few, if I say “Jesus Christ,” your world has so been tainted that for some, that's a curse word? I was so disappointed. I'm looking up a movie for my son, just checking one of those “Plugged-In, Screen-It”… What kind of language? Is there a lot of violence? There are three “D” words in this review. There are three “S” words in this review and oh, don't forget, in this movie, they’ll use four “J.C.'s.” My Savior's name, right alongside other cusswords--cussword?
What is it about Jesus? What would make the folks at “American Idol,” year 2008; invite all the singers to close the show with the song, “Shout to the Lord?” Now, there’s a risk. The American Idol singers, Season 8, “Shout to the Lord?” Oh, oh, oh, oh, they’re going to take a chance; it's a Christian song, but let's not take that big a chance. “Let's do this,” the producers decide, “that lyric that goes, ‘My Jesus, my Savior,’ can’t do that. Let’s instead have them sing, ‘my Shepherd, my Savior.’” Why? “Well, I mean, we don’t mind them singing a Christian song, but it’s that name, it’s that word, it’s that, you know… I--I don’t know that we want to say ‘Jesus.’ Do we?”
We have to guard people, shelter people, protect people from…? Well, it goes a little further and you know this happens all the time. “Praying in Jesus’ name controversy reaches General Assembly in North Carolina.” Now it happens in cities, it happens in counties all the time but the whole idea behind a Christian pastor saying, “Hey, can I pray in the name of Jesus?” Now the rub to me is, if he is an imam, if he’s someone who has a clerical collar from the Muslimic—from the Islamic tradition, I think he's allowed to say Allah, but am I allowed to say, Jesus? Well in this case you can't.
Here's another one. “Christians arrested for giving out the Gospel in Detroit Michigan.” What? At a Muslim festival, a handful of guys decide, “Hey, we want to outreach to Muslims.” No, they’re actually arrested for it. Move a little further. Police shut down a scary Easter crucifixion? “A re-enactment on a stage outside an Australian shopping center has been shut down after police said it caused public distress.” What was the public distress? Well it’s a festival, a Christian festival, but when it came to hanging a half-naked, bloody man on a cross? “Shut it down, we—we don't want to see that!”
Now, again, it would be one thing if we were living in a world that was just so you know, under communistic control and didn't just censor religious things but it censored everything, but that's not the case at all. Of the world that I live or the world that you live in, I mean, it may sound a little PG-13, I apologize if they're younger kids here, but have you like me had to try to explain your kids why it is that an erection will last more than four hours? “Bob, I can't believe you said that. Oh I can’t…” I’m saying you’ve already heard that line. If you have never heard that line, well then you don't own a television set because your advertisers have been showing your children, distributing these messages. And I'm thinking it is one thing, if the world says no to all but it’s a whole other thing if the world just says no to--to Jesus?
Move a little further, Florida community college imposes a ban on the “Passion of the Christ?” A group of college students at the Indian River Community College, they say, “Hey, we want to show the Passion of the Christ.” They go, “No, no, no, it’s rated R.” They said, “Yeah but you already showed an R-rated movie just last month.” “Well, uh--uh, we don't allow that here on this campus, that kind of language?” That was their objection, language? “Yeah, about Jesus.” Well, no, no, no, that's not true, guys, you’ve got this No Shame theater and they perform plays with graphic language including a piece entitled, and the title for the piece I can't repeat because it's a curse word for Jesus. Curse word for Jesus? We have a theater group called the No Shame theater group and they can have a play about Jesus and even make fun of Him but--but you can't have the “Passion of the Christ” on the same college campus. You can’t do that.
Here, if you think it’s just in the United States America. European court tells Italians to take down their crucifixes? How can a European court tell you to take down your crucifix in Italy? I don't understand? There are crucifixes on every wall and on every... This is the issue. A preview of what stronger European Union government might look like when it comes to religious freedom. “Italians were stunned to hear that the European court of human rights ruled that they had been violating ‘religious and educational rights of their children for generations by forcing them to attend schools and classrooms with crucifixes hanging on their walls.’” Huh? What happens if a kid sees a crucifix of Jesus hanging on the cross? And here’s what happens. Some of you, hearing me go, “Well, I can understand that, separation of church and state.” I’m sorry, separation of what? “Well, you know, I mean, a state’s not allowed to…” Oh, oh, oh, wait, what state? Who are we? What is our identity here in the United States of America and what are we being sheltered or guarded protected from?
You see, it comes back to this whole double standard idea because when I see that you can't do some things. When it comes to the things you can do, I’m often surprised. Like the 5,200 naked people that meet on the steps of a Sydney, Australia opera house because that popular photographer that takes these mass pictures of naked people gets them all together at 3 a.m. in the morning and says and I quote, “I want you to hug one another. I want you to kiss one another. I want you to touch cheek-to-cheek.” Cheek-to-cheek? 5,200 naked people, 3 a.m. in the morning? That's fine. But that naked man bloody on a cross? That's not fine. We can’t do that!
You see, something’s been happening in our world today and again if it was just that we were such an incredibly restrictive group. If in fact we were very repressive that’d be one thing, but as I look through this stuff as I see what's happening here, I realize, you know what? It's just happening in my mind, to Jesus.
You see, what I have to point out is it doesn't seem to happen that same way when it comes to Allah. In fact, there seems to be a sensitivity to Muslims today that there's not necessarily toward Christians. For instance, Muslim soldier, Nidal Hassan shoots 13 people dead, wounds another 32 at the Ft. Hood military post. You remember display of political correctness, media reports barely mention the religious angle. Instead, they highlight the fact that he was an army psychiatrist.” Listen to the article as it goes a little further: “The killer had previously said that ‘Muslims should rise up against the military, repeatedly expressed sympathy for suicide bombers, was pleased by the terrorist murder of an army recruiter and engaged in hate speech against non-Muslims publicly calling for the beheading or burning of non-Muslims, and talking, about how, ‘if you're a nonbeliever the Koran says you should have your head cut off and you should have oil poured down your throat and you should be set on fire.’ But nothing was done to remove him from his position where he could harm others. Although his views were common knowledge, a fear of appearing discriminatory kept officers from filing a formal written complaint.” The Associated Press noted moreover, “A key official on a review committee reportedly asked how it might look to terminate a key resident who happened to be a Muslim.”
What’s that? A sensitivity? “Oh Bob, you're just this pastor that has a passion for and you're looking at the world...” I’m looking at our country and I'm looking at other countries. There are Muslim countries on the other side of the globe that make no bones by saying you know, “No, you're not allowed to bring a Bible in here. No, you’re not allowed to have a church in here.” And here in America, when we see it, we say, “Well whatever you are, and whoever you have, come on, you know, come by here, and sit and call it your home. And if you’re not the way that we are, well that’s okay.”
Well what are we then? Well, we’re very tolerant and very accepting. But what if, what if what we were much more spiritual and much more Christian, but today, the shift in the change that's happening, you see the contrast is this. “A Massachusetts’ father is outraged after his eight-year-old son is sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after drawing a stick figure picture of Jesus on the cross. The father said he got a call earlier this month from the elementary school informing him that his son, a second grade student had created a violent drawing. The image in question depicted a crucified Jesus with x’s covering His eyes to signify that He had died on a cross. The boy wrote his name above the cross. Now the student drew the picture shortly after taking a family trip to see the Christmas display at a Christian retreat site. He made the drawing in class after the teacher asked the children to sketch something that reminded them of Christmas.” “Boys and girls, sketch something that makes you think of Christmas.” “Oh easy, Jesus, hanging on a cross! The One who came, the One who died.” “Uh, you need psychological evaluation. We’re going to remove you from class. Time for you to go home. Let’s figure that out. Jesus, is that what that is?”
How about this one? “Judge dismisses suit opposing requirements for students to recite the Koran and pray to Allah requiring seventh grade students to pretend they're Muslims. Wear Islamic garb, memorize verses from the Koran. Pray to Allah and even play ‘Jihad’ games in California public schools has been legally upheld by a federal judge who dismissed a highly publicized lawsuit brought by several Union school districts and Christian students and their parents. The suit was filed against the Byron Union's school district and various school officials to stop the use of ‘the Islamic stimulation materials and methods used in the elementary school.’”
What was happening? Listen to this, “the judge ruled that the elementary school was not indoctrinating students about Islam when it required them to adopt Muslim names, pray to Allah as a part of their history and geography class but rather was just teaching them about the Muslim religion.” “In the curriculum,” listen to this, “the students had to assume Islamic names, stimulate Ramadan fasting by going without something for a day and recite the following prayers.” So here’s your seventh grade student, he’s going to recite this prayer. It’s a part of the curriculum. “In the name of Allah. The compassionate and merciful, praise be to Allah, lord of creation. The compassionate, merciful king of judgment day, you alone we worship and to you alone we pray guide us to the straight path.”
Richard Thompson, chief counsel of the Thomas Law Group says, “Can you imagine the ACLU's outcry if students were told that they had to pray the Lord's Prayer or memorize the Ten Commandments or use such phrases as ‘Jesus is Messiah’ and fast during lent?" You see, it's a weird thing for me to live in this world and find out that these kinds of things are happening.
It was Brit Hume--Hume who recently suggested that Tiger Woods consider the Christian faith because in Buddhism you don't get forgiveness. There was such a media backlash. Brit Hume, who is surprised by this said, and I quote, “No no, no, no, I've discovered that the two most of controversial words in the public square today are ‘Jesus Christ.’” Do I rest my case? No, I have to keep it open. And I’ll tell you why. It's our subject matter. Our subject matter has everything to do with what's this dislike? What's this distance from? What is this obstacle? What is this opposition to “Jesus?” What is that?
It's John chapter 15. I want to draw your attention to verse 23, for in John chapter 15, I hope to help. I hope to help with three simple phrases and the first of which will come from the Word. John 15 and 23. Jesus is speaking. We read, He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin but now they have seen and also hated both Me and my Father. Look at verse 25, get ready to underline it. But this happened that the Word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. What’s that? He is reciting from the Hebrew Scriptures, “The Messiah will be hated without a cause.”
Now come on back. If you're a note taker, first reason. Why do people have a problem with Jesus? Listen, they don’t know. And the reason they don’t know, take note, in 1st Corinthians 2 and 14 the Bible says that, The natural man doesn't understand spiritual things. In fact, the natural man so doesn't understand spiritual things the Bible says they are actually foolishness to him. So when someone thinks about Jesus being the Savior of the world but He’s a man and then He hangs on a cross and then He bleeds and dies and then a bunch of guys say He left an empty tomb, to them, that's foolishness. They don't understand how that could possibly be true but they take their foolishness to the utmost degree and they have a hard time comprehending because they don't know what they cannot know. But you know it. And what do you know?
You know that there's times where you won't like someone and you don't know why. Haven't you had that experience? Of course you have. You can be driving down the road, stop at a red light, look at a guy and go, “blhaaahh,” It’s like, “Why don’t you like him?” “I don’t. I just don’t like him.” You could be in this church today for the very first time and not like me. And it’s just something that just bugs you, just something that bothers you a little—that thing that gets under your skin. Yeah, that little thing that gets under your skin, you know, I start talking about Thomas Edison being a genius, and taking naps. “I don’t like him.” Listen, that's with a cause. They don't like Jesus without a cause. Without a cause? No, the cause is cosmic you see. It's beyond. It's not something that's practical or physical or rational or logical, understandable. It’s something that's so supernatural. It's so spiritual. If somebody says, “I—I just want nothing to do with Jesus.” “Why?” “I don’t know.” No, I know. I do know. It’s demonic, man. There’s a power from the pit, the hand of hell so grabs the human heart that somebody says, “I want nothing to do with that church,” and any conversation about spiritual things they react and respond in ways that are just so irrational.
I had a cable guy years ago at our first home. He came to connect our link and I start a conversation that was very friendly, very calm. Then finally he says, “So, what do you do for a living?” And I go, “I’m a pastor.” “Excuse me? Pastor of what?” And the minute I said, “A Christian church.” I’m telling you, he began to froth at the mouth. “Arghh, I don’t understand you guys and I don’t understand what you’re trying....” Now he’s getting tense. And I’m going, “Ahhhh--the cable guy.” What is this all about? Demonic. Not that he was a demon, please—although... Much more so, it’s inexplicable, but for us, it’s explained. Why? Stay with me.
The Christian faith calls you to invite someone into your life. Who are you inviting into your life—a Jew? Wait a minute. Did you just say what I thought you said? Yeah, yeah, yeah and here's the point, Jewish persecution? Jewish people persecuted above all others? Listen to this. The Jews are the only group in the world with the unique term for their persecution, “anti-Semitism,” because the world realizes that anti-Semitism isn't simply one more unfortunate example of hatred, but it's a phenomenon specific to the Jews. There are three specific aspects to anti-Semitism which characterize it as being a hatred like no other hatred. If you’re a note taker, first, universality, two, irrationality and three, intensity. Now if you don't understand the universal side of anti-Semitism. Listen to this, “The scope of it can be seen in the fact that the--the Jews have been expelled from virtually every country in which they’ve resided. Jews were expelled from England in 1290, France in 1306 and in 1394, Hungary in 1349 and 1360, Austria in 1421, from various places in Germany throughout the 14th 15th and 16th century, from Lithuanian in 1445, Spain 1492, Portugal 1497, Moravia 1744, between the 15th and 18th century Jews were not permitted to enter Russia and when they were finally admitted, they were restricted to one area.”
Now, wait a minute. What are you saying? I’m saying, that when Herod determines it is best because his kingship is being threatened, he cries that every male Jewish child should be wiped out. What is that? That has everything to do with the Messiah, our Hope, our Salvation and Who we follow. It’s global. Stay with me.
Irrationality. “The Jews were accused of having brought socialism and communism to Germany, of being responsible for Germany losing World War I and of causing the economic problems of the 1920’s. This paranoia existed in spite of the fact that the percentage of Jewish people in Germany at the time was only .8%. And at the same time, the Jews in America were being accused of being communists in the 1950’s. The Jews in Russia were being labeled as Capitalists and one more study of anti-Semitism--or the more one studies anti-Semitism – pardon me, the more obvious it becomes that the innumerable explanations for their persecution are really irrational excuses.”
For instance, I'm in Israel and I'm with my guide and it’s the first part of this year and as I’m looking at the walls and the barbed wire and the separation, I say to him, “Do you understand…?” Now, he's not a believing Jew. He is not even much of a practicing Jew. He's just a really great Jewish guide. Do you understand anti-Semitism? I asked him that. He said, “You know, years ago, at the Hebrew University, I was a part of a research group and we tried our best to discover, because there have been volumes written on it, why the world doesn't like Jewish people. And I said, “What was the conclusion?” He said, “Even to this day, no one knows.” Now, I’m sitting right next to him and I want to raise my hand and say, “I know, I know, I know.” What do I know? I know it has to do with Jesus and I know it has to do with something that’s so supernatural, something that so spiritual, sometimes mystical, but listen the battle here on earth is not a battle of flesh and blood. It's a spiritual thing.
It's why I asked you to turn to Ephesians chapter 6 leaving John chapter 15, look at the way it reads in verse 12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Did you see what your Bible just said? Now, stay with me. There is a spirit of anti-Semitism on our planet. So you decide to, as a Gentile, invite a Jew into your heart and now somebody has a problem with you and with your Jesus. Why do they have a problem with you and with your Jesus? It’s that same spirit that’s anti-God. Do you understand? And why is it important that you do? Because every once in while you're surprised that somebody doesn’t like you because of your Christian faith. Sometimes you get your feelings hurt. “I tried to share Christ with my boss and he told me to ‘Shut up!’ I’m never going to share again!” You really had expected? “Uh, can I tell you about my Jesus?” “Yes, I was waiting today for someone to tell me about Christ. In fact, I'm waiting to pray the sinner's prayer. Would you lead me in it?” No, no, no! You're going to find opposition, and you’re going to find opinion, and you’re going to find ridicule and you're going to find people that really, really don't like this thing and they don’t even know why they don’t like this thing. It'll be without cause. That’s number one.
Number two, however, go with me to Acts chapter 19. And in Acts chapter 19, the second reason is, it’s “with cause.” Now, with cause is interesting as you see it kind of expressed here in Acts chapter 19. We’ll pick it up in verse 23. Acts 19 and 23. And about that time there arose a great commotion about the way. Now keep in mind when it comes to the term “way” that's how they describe the Christian body at that time. They're just the “way” because everybody believed the same thing and they kind of felt this “way” about that “way.” You get it? Look at verse 24. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Diana brought no small profit to the craftsman. He called them together with the workers of similar occupation and said, “Men, you know we have our prosperity in this trade, moreover you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute but also the temple of the Greek goddess Diana—Diana, may be despised and her magnificence destroyed whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Pause right there, your attention please. What’s happening? Oh, this is so classic, Paul and so amazing, God. There’s a whole host of people involved in the worship of idols and the idol they happen to be worshiping is none other than Diana. Ahh, Diana? Remember Greek mythology? Remember the 8-900 B.C.? You’ve got all these myths, some of them no longer myths, some of them religions, some of the acts of worship. Diana, the goddess of the hunt. “And if you're going to go out and get game, man, spend some time worshipping Diana before you go. You’re going to try and catch dolphin off the Atlantic? Get yourself your own Diana doll. Take her with you on your boat. You’re going to get a big Bull nose… You watch this work!” That’s what they were convincing people of. And as Diana's popularity grew, her influence also grew. She used to just be the goddess of the hunt. Pretty soon, she’s the goddess of fertility. Pretty soon, she supplants Luna the moon god and now she has power over the tides and over the ocean? So now there's this guy, Demetrius, he's making Diana shrines. He’s got a the little shrine he’s got a little Diana in there and he’s selling these and the apostle Paul shows up and goes, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to ridicule. I don’t mean to laugh. But guys, you're making your god with your hands and then you’re setting them on your dash—on your boat—your—your—your...you made something with your hands, now you’re going to worship it and believe…” No, no, no, don’t, don’t, no, no, no, it's not a god if you make it with your hands, okay? The people have little lights go on, “Wow, we make it with our hands and we worship, that’s kind of strange. Time for me to…” Now here's what happens. Demetrius is in a sales meeting. The general manager turns and says, “Look at the numbers of Diana shrines. They’re going down. You’re not going to make quota this month.” “It’s that Paul guy. He’s such an anti-Diana guy! He’s influenced…” Now again, some people don't like Jesus without cause. Some people don’t like Jesus, “because.” What’s that “because?” Because, you’ve change so much, you're influencing or affecting whether it be them for good or bad and if they’re in the business of something that you're going to quit. Man, if you're in the tobacco business, the church?
Do you know that sometimes we will go to rent a hotel for a conference and automatically they begin to trigger, “Okay if there's that many people here, well then we'll have bar open and alcohol… Oh, it’s you guys. Okay so we won't sell a lot of booze with the Christians.”
Do you know that we decided to open up this little eatery here, “The Daily Grill” some of the conversation had to do with whether or not we could turn a profit because you just don’t want to have something here on your property and not turn a profit. Somebody said, “How are you going to do that without selling alcohol? Hmm… What if we only sell St. Pauli’s Girl and Blue Nun?” “No! If we can’t do it without alcohol, we’re not going to do it!” You know, right now, today, that is a very, if you will, profitable part of our ministry now, (unclear wording here) since it’s non-profit, it goes right back into the ministry but the point I'm making is this, “We’re odd!” We’re a strange group and every once in a while you'll come to Christ and say to your friend, “Oh, man, you won’t believe what happened, I accepted Christ! And then they’ll say to you, “So you don’t want to go out again Friday night then, right? “Well, maybe if I had a Sprite!” “I thought we were going in together on that keg?” “No, I won’t be helping you buy a keg--not anymore. I’m not into that…” “Oh man!”
I had a dad and I can come close to the quote, “I don't know what you did with my kid. He stopped cursing and he doesn’t want to drink. What did you do, brain wash my kid?” I want my cursing, alcoholic son back is basically what he was asking for. “Bad for business this thing called ‘Calvary Chapel.’” I would love to have the kind of influence here in Broward County where bars actually closed. Wouldn’t that be great? Now, if you’re a bar owner, just now? “Them are fighting words, Man! Don’t you dare! You better not save that many people. I got a family!” You know what’s going to happen.
Do you remember that when I worked at the casino and I received Jesus and came back the next day a lot of people were surprised? “What--what do you mean you’ve accepted Jesus? What-what are you saying?” “Well, I asked Jesus into my life. I’m going to Heaven, Man!” “Okay. So you’re the one going to Heaven? We think we’re all going to Hell. So we’re on two different paths here, aren’t we?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Let me describe to you the two different paths. If in fact, stay with me on the thought, if you are doing something, albeit right because it's right to you and wrong to them, they’re going to have a problem with your Jesus. But, if in fact you're doing something wrong, now you've become the “because” to them having a problem with Jesus. Don't forget, the world is watching you! My life is probably analyzed and critiqued more so than so many of you. Why, because people are waiting to see. People want to know is that real, is it genuine? How deep? How shallow? How serious? The same thing is happening to you.
I’m careful what kind of car I drive. Why? Everyone’s watching. “What’s he driving? Where does he live? How much does he got? What’s he doing?” And there I am every day like a little fish in a bowl. You watch me. I know you watch me because years ago we're a church picnic and I was sitting there having a bag of potato chips with my wife and my in-laws were in town. And this girl was watching me. And at first I thought, “Yeah, I understand.” But then, she was really like watching, like stalking, like sheesh, yikes, like call the cops kind of watching. Finally, I kind of smiled and I kind of walked over, you know, “Hey, how’s it going?” I said, “I noticed you’re watching, but you’re really watching.” “Oh I know and I’m so sorry. I wanted to see how you treat your wife and how you treat your in-laws. I’ve been watching. I want to grow and I want to know how does somebody who is a pastor do their family. I’ve had some bad examples. I'm watching you for the good example.” “Oh, oh.” As you go back, sit at your blanket. “Hi mom! Would you like another chip? Here, I’ll dip it for you.”
And because I have—because I have a sense of humor a lot of you think you’re going to run into me in the real world and I’ll always be, “Ha, Ha,” always laughing. The other day I was at the grocery store and I’m looking at a box of cereal and I’m kind of serious and somebody goes, “This is probably not the right time.” And I go, “No, it’s not--cereal. When I grocery shop you don’t talk to me.”
Remember seeing your teacher out of school and it was weird? My teacher, they’re out. It happens to me. “Ahh, you’re at the grocery store!” “Yes, I grocery shop sometimes.” “I didn’t think you’d be out.” They think I live here. My bed’s back behind that door. I’m far away from the study. Here's the thought, “They’re watching!” But sometimes you can actually have an opinion that is very much biblical but because they disagree with the opinion the cause is your opinion matches His and they didn't know he had it—Jesus.
Perfect example, it was just this last week, her name is Anne Rice. And maybe you saw the YouTube video or maybe you saw the interview on CNN. Anne Rice, the author, 100 million copies, “Vampire Chronicles.” She decided to renounce Christ. Well not Christ, she decided to renounce Christianity. Here's what appeared on her Facebook. “For those of you who care, I understand if you don't, today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being a Christian or to being a part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to belong to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious and deservedly infamous group. For ten years I've tried, I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscious will allow nothing else. Then, a few hours later back on Facebook, “As I said below I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be (and listen to this) anti-gay, I refuse to be anti-feminist, I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control, I refuse to be anti-democrat, I refuse to be anti-secular humanism, I refuse to be anti-science, I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ I quit Christianity and being a Christian, Amen.” What?
Now I want to understand it more. So I go online. I find the interview and find out who was interviewing her, Joy Behar, and I realize, you know what? Her issue is probably more with the Roman Catholic Church than is with Christianity. I hear how it’s being phrased but then I dig a little deeper I go, “Well, whoa, wait a minute, what did she just say? She’s talking to Joy and Joy asked what? And here’s what Joy asked her. “Do you think that anything that you feel today has to do with your son being gay and maybe the way the church treats him?” What is that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, see, sometimes what happens is that although the Scripture says that God made me in His image, what I’d like to do is reverse that and make Him in my image. And if I think He should be more tolerant or more benevolent, I’m going to let Him know and if He doesn't match me, well then I'll just stay away from the book that defines Him as somebody I can’t relate to or talk to. And I'll make my own Jesus that is much more friendly than the Jesus in the Bible that seems to be so specific and unkind to certain groups that I think He should be kinder to.
You see, the cause some days has everything to do with who the biblical Jesus is, if in fact He rubs me the wrong way not being the Jesus that I think my Jesus, “He’s very loving. I think my Jesus loves kids. My image always has Him kind of around kids, blessing people and doing miracles.” But the Jesus of the Bible? While though He’s very, very, loving, you’ll find one of His more popular words was “repent.” Repent, now, what is repentance? Listen to this dictionary definition of the word repentance. “Sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin with a willingness to change.” Now wait a second. You mean to tell me not everything in my life is right? No, and every once in a while you'll look on and maybe you know someone who’s gay, and you’ll go, “I don’t understand this? It seems like they have a very special love relationship and I don't know why the church feels this way.”
Well, you know, on my side of the desk in the last 5-10 years, I've had many, if not just a few, more than that, “Bob I was, uh, told it was okay for me to be this way and I've lived this life and in this lifestyle for years but I’m believing in God (for/when – unclear) something else.” And through prayer and ministry, someone changes. And somebody who has said they’re gay admits they’re miserable and they end up becoming happy and satisfied in a design that seems to be a directive from the biblical Jesus. Now if you want to make yourself a Jesus that’s happy and satisfied with all of who you are without change, then repent from what? Oh, it's repenting from those things that you decide need to be changed but things that the church decides need to be change, “Well that’s just this is probably that narrow bigoted church but that's not--not Jesus,” and so we continue to say, “I—I have issue with God or I more so issue with Jesus because He said…” So it's not Him being right and you being wrong. It’s you being right and Him being wrong. Well now, when does it stop?
In other words, if this is kind of a smorgasbord opportunity and I can have a cafeteria experience with the Word of God? “You know what? I like the book of Acts. I'm cool with that. I like most in Matthew but there are a few verses in Matthew that I don’t agree with because of course, it affects a group that I have a special affection for. So, I don't think He said those things. I think He said other things but I think He meant repent about everything except that one thing that you guys say is sin that I don’t think is sin.” Now, when you do that, who becomes God? You do. He’s got a book out, a best seller, Genesis to Revelation, complete. But when you say, “I'll believe this and I won't believe that,” now you're taking a more superior position because He says, “All of it is good.” All Scripture is good and God-breathed and good for correction and training and righteousness.” “Oh, I don't think that’s right.” Okay. Now I understand. Some have a problem without cause. Some have a problem with cause and the cause is either a Christian who's done something right or a Christian who's done something wrong. Don’t be the one who has done something wrong.
If you are, uh, making a payment, make sure there's enough money in the checking account before you send a check to somebody with a dove that’s going to bounce. Bouncing doves? You got a fish in the corner and that's the check and somebody gets your check and they go, “Oh, that’s a believer.” They put it in and it comes back. “Whoa, whoa, what’s that all about?” “By faith I wrote it.” Well I hope that faith also supplies the $35 per for a return check. How embarrassing. But that would be their cause. But I think it's not the, “without cause.” I don't even think it's the “with cause.”
And my third point, go with me to John chapter 3, not too far away, we conclude with this thought. I think it's because there's something in your life that you do not want to repent from. Look at the way this reads, John chapter 3 verse 16 most all you know. I wish more people knew 17 and 18. Here's how it reads, For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. Now he who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already because he's not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God and this is the condemnation that light has come into the world that men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and doesn't come to the light unless his deeds should be exposed but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God. I want you to, if you need to, reread it while I read it to you out of the Message translation listen to the way this reads I think you'll appreciate it. This is how much God loved the world. He gave His Son, His one and only Son and this is why so that no one need be destroyed by believing in Him anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger telling the world how bad it was. He came to help. To put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted. Anyone who refuses to trust in Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Well, because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. I remember that line in the New King James, “This is the condemnation.” I like it better in this translation. “This is the crisis we’re in.” God’s light streamed into the world but men and women everywhere ran for darkness. They went for the darkness because they're really not interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and allusion hates God light and won't come near it fearing a painful exposure.
Why do people have a problem with Jesus? Well sometimes they don’t even know. It's the church behaving or believing in a way that just upsets them. But the primary reason mankind has a problem with Christ—it’s your sin. It’s your own sin. And the sad thing about the way you view your sin is, you don't realize, He's trying to rescue
you. Again, I love the Message Bible as He screams with mercy He didn't go to all that with His son to appoint an accusing finger at you. He did that to try and help.
Listen, let me say it to you this way, I am broken. I am flawed. I am so not perfect. There is no one in this room that is perfect even close to it. Every one of us has a broken part in our heart that makes us ill-equipped or unprepared for the Kingdom of God. Jesus sees our condition and says, “Oh, I see that broken thing, that bad relationship. I see the lack of the understanding. I see that absence of wisdom. I'll fix it for you.” And He’s here today to fix whatever problem you have. But this I know about fixing stuff. And I as a dad and me as a man love to fix stuff. I’ve got a garage with a lot of tools that gets me in trouble from time-to-time.
My dad used to say, “If you have the right tools you can fix anything.” That's not true, you still need a brain. Just because the box says “Skill Saw” doesn't mean, “You are.” Now, over the years my kids will bring me something, “Dad, can you fix that? “Uh, yes, I can.” That’s my personality. That’s every dad’s personality. “Yeah, I can fix that.” And here’s what we do. Stay there, I’m going in the garage, do what dad does and come back. So I go in the garage and go, “Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man.” I’ll never forget, one time, Caitlyn, she was a lot younger; she came to me with a broken purple crayon. “Dad?” She’s got these big chocolate eyes, she looks up at me. “Kate, I’ll be right back.”
I drove to Walgreens. I did. I did. I got a box. I came back. I took out purple. “Kate.” “Dad, it looks new.” “Yes, I know. He makes all things new.”
Let me tell you something, God’s trying to do a new thing in your life. But if I go in my garage and I can’t turn on my light, I can’t fix anything. There’s nothing worse than, “you know that power went out. Lets find this.” There you are near the fuse box. You’re supposed to see the fuses. I can’t see the fuses. I don’t have any light. You can’t fix anything in the dark. So God says, “Your life is broken, I want you to come to the light and I can fix it.” And what do you do? You look for darkness. “No, I’m going to hide. There He is. There’s that light. Hide from that light.” You’ve heard me say before, cockroaches hide from light. So, your identity today? Butterflies love light. Butterflies, just—they bask in it. They just stay there for a long time. And you go, Cockroaches hide. Are you a butterfly? Or? Sorry…
My Jesus, my Savior, save me from what? From me. I’m broken. I need fixed. And if I approach Him today and go, “God, Fix me, God.” “Bob, come on.” He puts me on His workbench and puts a tool in His hand and begins to make those adjustments and if you don’t come to light, you’re going to stay broken. And that thing about you that you’re tired of and you’ve begun to rationalize and you’ve begin to dismiss or, “Oh that’s the way I’ve always been man.” “That’s my Italian passion.” “That’s my Irish anger.” “That’s my…” No, I’m, not going to go any further and get mail. You really want to stay angry? You really want to have no control over your appetite? Is that really where you want to stay? Here’s Jesus today, going, “Hey, I'm Savior of the world and it’s just not about there and then and the Kingdom of God come it's about here and now and how you live your tomorrow and if you're interested…I outstretched my arms and I hung and I bled and I let you guys beat me up so you'd know if I let you do that to Me to show you my love is not my love worthy of trusting so that I can change your life and make you a better being. Would you like to be a better being today?
