I want to start today with telling you the true story of “Mike, the Headless Chicken” September 10th, 1945 finds a strapping (but tender) young rooster pecking through the dust of Fruita, Colorado. The unsuspecting bird had never looked so delicious as he did that, now famous, day. Clara Olsen was planning on featuring the plump chicken in the evening meal. Husband Lloyd Olsen was sent out, on a very routine mission, to prepare the designated fryer for the pan. Nothing about this task turned out to be routine. Lloyd knew his mother-in-law would be dining with them and would savor the neck. He positioned his ax precisely, estimating just the right tolerances, to leave a generous neck bone. A skillful blow was executed and the chicken staggered around like most freshly terminated poultry.
Then the determined bird shook off the traumatic event and never looked back. Mike returned to his job of being a chicken. He pecked for food and preened his feathers just like the rest of his barnyard buddies.
When Olsen found Mike the next morning, sleeping with his "head" under his wing, he decided that if Mike had that much will to live, he would figure out a way to feed and water him. With an eyedropper Mike was given grain and water. It was becoming obvious that Mike was special. A week into Mike's new life Olsen packed him up and took him 250 miles to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City . The skeptical scientists were eager to answer all the questions regarding Mike's amazing ability to survive with no head. It was determined that ax blade had missed the jugular vein and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was in a jar, most of his brain stem and one ear was left on his body. Since most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem Mike was able to remain quite healthy.
In the 18 MONTHS that Mike lived as "The Headless Wonder Chicken" he grew from a mere 2 1/2 lbs. to nearly 8 lbs. In an interview, Olsen said Mike was a "robust chicken - a fine specimen of a chicken except for not having a head.”
Miracle Mike took on a manager, and with the Olsens in tow, set out on a national tour. Curious sideshow patrons in New York , Atlantic City , Los Angeles , and San Diego lined up to pay 25 cents to see Mike. The "Wonder Chicken" was valued at $10,000 and insured for the same. His fame and fortune would earn him recognition in Life and Time Magazines. It goes without saying there was a Guinness World Record in all this. While returning from one of these road trips the Olsens stopped at a motel in the Arizona desert. In the middle of the night Mike began to choke. Unable to find the eyedropper used to clear Mike's open esophagus Miracle Mike passed on.
Now, Mike's spirit is celebrated every year at the Mike the Headless Chicken Festival the third weekend in May.
You might say that it was only the grace of God that spared Mike’s life. And you would not be wrong. Everything about Mike was a miracle. The cut had to be right. The farmer had to be compassionate. What seemed to be the end for Mike became the beginning of fame.
We have been dissecting the prayer Jesus prayed for us. He prayed that we would have his joy, the kind of joy that comes with suffering. He prayed we would have his holiness, the kind that makes the world hate us. But He knew we needed God’s grace to accomplish our mission. Much like Mike, the enemy was about to cut off the head of the church in hopes the body would die. So He prayed. John 17:15-16 “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do.” Let’s discover what we can about this portion of his prayer for us.
Wouldn’t it be great if as soon as we became a follower of Jesus we would be whisked away to be with him. There would probably me a lot more followers. But it was, and still, is his desire that we remain in the world. To remain in the world, not be part of the world.
We often feel that we should isolate ourselves from the world. Thomas Rhett Akins wrote a country song in 2011 titled “If I could have a beer with Jesus.” It offended a lot of folks. But in reading the lyrics Jesus is not drinking but only hanging out with a man who is drinking and has a lot of questions. Jesus sat down with the sinners of his time. He probably would sit down with this man. We, on the other hand, would not be caught dead in a bar because of what others would think. Now I am not suggesting hanging out in bars but don’t allow the opinions of others cloud an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone.
Psalm 1:1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. Yet is not standing around with sinners exactly what Jesus did? How do we lie down with the dogs and not get the fleas? Jesus prays that God will give us a flea collar to protect us. Matthew 7:6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.” Yet is that not what Jesus did with those unacceptable before God? How do we know if our pearls are being cast before pigs? Jesus prays that we will be protected from the angry swine if they turn on us. Why is He praying for us to be left in the world? Because He desired that we would continue his work.
1) He wants us to remain in the world to serve as salt.
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.”
Salt served three purposes in that day. Like today, it was a taste enhancer. It made food taste better. Jesus said if it loses it’s flavor than it’s worthless. Jesus says we are the salt of the earth. We make life taste better by our actions around others. When we care for the destitute and poor, we make their situation taste better. When we love the outcast, we make their life taste better. When we care for the sick and hurting, we make their pain more bearable. When we visit the lonely, we make their day more brighter.
Psalm 34:8 says “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” It is through our actions that the world taste the goodness of God. However, if we lose our flavor, the Lord says we are worthless and to be trampled underfoot.
Secondly, salt acted as a preservative. In those days there were no refrigeration. Food would be encased in salt. This would draw out all the water in the food, basically making it mummified. Salt would also kill harmful microbes by causing them to rupture as the water was drawn from them.
We were left on this earth to preserve the Word of God. We are to encase those around us with the truth of God’s Word by our actions and our words. In doing so, we can dispel false teachings of the enemy. Through prayer, we can stand and fight “against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” as described in Ephesians 6:12.
If we lose our saltiness we become ineffective. We can not preserve God’s word and fight the enemy if we have lost our saltiness. Again we become worthless.
Thirdly, we are to reflect our worth. Have you ever heard the saying “He is worth his salt.”? Or “He is not worth his salt.” The Latin word for salary has as it’s root word the Latin word for salt. Historians record a bonus was paid at times to Roman centurions to allow them the luxury of purchasing salt. If he was doing a good job, he was worth his salt. If he was doing a bad job, he was not worth his salt.
Jesus left us here to reflect our value. There is nothing sadder than a Christian who feels unworthy. You are of great value to God. He gave his Son for you. You are not measured on your talents, skills, or intelligence. You are measured on your worthiness in the eyes of God. You are a child of the King. You are adopted into God’s family and can call him “Daddy.” You are the head and not the tail. Your worthiness is spelled out in detail throughout the Bible. Realize how much He loves you. Realize your worth. You are Blessed and Highly Favored. It’s more than just four words, it’s life. The lost needs to see within us the value of following Jesus.
2) He wants us to remain in the world to be a light
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
When I was in the navy we would sail out of San Diego and spend many days sailing the ocean blue. Sometimes we would return to harbor at night. Standing on the bow of the ship you would start to see the lights of the city long before you would land. It was a comforting feeling knowing that home was going closer.
We were left behind to be that promising glow. The only way the city lights would not shine is if they were turned off. There was no way to hide the city. Like San Diego we are to shine through our good deeds to the glory of God. No one should be withheld from receiving what we have to offer. This light in this building gives light to all of us, deserving or not. God’s grace is offered to all of us, deserving or not. We are to do the same.
3) He wants us to remain in the world to be a witness.
Acts 1:8- “ ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.”
This was the final commandment Jesus gave to his followers before He ascended into heaven. I would think that fact alone made this commandment extremely important.
To understand this better we must first understand the definition of a witness. A “witness” is someone who attests to a fact, so in order to be an effective witness for Christ we must have a firsthand knowledge of Him. To qualify as a witness we have to have seen or experienced the subject that we are witnessing about. We also have to be able to validate that we did see or experienced the subject we are witnessing about. And we must articulate the subject we saw or experienced.
1) Our subject
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.”
This is our testimony in a nutshell. Jesus was crucified, buried, and on the third day rose from the dead. This is the basic Gospel. We can add big words like sanctification and justification to it or smaller words like faith. But Jesus raised from the dead is the subject of our testimony.
2) Our validation.
Philippians 2:14-15 “Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”
We make valid our testimony by the way we live our lives. If you believe your testimony about Jesus, you will live as if you believe it. Jesus never complained about his circumstances and although He debated the Pharisees and the Sadducees He never argued with them. He lived a clean and innocent life in a world full of crooked and perverse people. We should do no less.
3) Our knowledge
1 Peter 3:15 “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”
We must be able to articulate our hope in Jesus. We must be able to explain why we believe what we believe. Knowing the Word of God will assist you in this endeavor. You do not need to be able to quote chapter and verse. Just know what the Word says, live it before others, and voice it.
Paul gave us this admonition in Romans. Romans 10:14
“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”
We were left behind to be the witness for Jesus.
Jesus continues to pray for our protection against the evil one. He knows that the devil is sly in his ways and we are no match for him. It is only through the death of Jesus and the support of the Holy Spirit that we can defeat him. And then He finishes this portion of his prayer with a reminder. We do not belong to this world anymore than He did.
That is the challenge. We have been left behind to be the salt, light, and the witness for him. We must be in the world to do this but we cannot be a part of the world. We are to reflect Jesus in everything we do and say. We have been left behind for a reason.
