Divided We ARE Falling/Failing
Good morning MGCC.
TODAY – is January 17 of the year 2021…
YEAH – I know a lot of us were looking forward to the new year, wanting to put the year 2020 behind us.
HOWEVER – 17 days in 2021 is not looking so good.
I MEAN – the turmoil, the unrest, the anger, the division
Is, is… it’s just crazy out there.
NOW – to be honest I really struggled this week over what to share with you this morning.
YOU SEE…
ON THE ONE HAND – I do not want what is happening out there in the world, to consume and dictate what we talk about on Sundays as a church.
YET AT THE SAME TIME – I do not want to avoid what is going on.
AND – unfortunately there is a lot going on.
LIKE - I don’t want it to consume us.
BUT - we can’t just ignore it either..
AND SO - in a time such as this what are we (as Jesus followers and members of God’s household)
What are we to think, like how are we to respond to all of the insanity that surrounds us.
AND YOU KNOW – one of the most troubling things to me has been the way that Jesus followers are behaving.
I MEAN AS – I scrolled through my Facebook feed this week, I saw so much anger, animosity and judgmental attitudes from Christians… aimed not at the world, but at each other.
LIKE – some people are very happy about President Trump leaving office and some are not.
Some are excited about the new administration,
and some - are not only not excited but are fearful that the America they grew up in is on the way out.
BOTTOM LINE – there are some very real and very raw emotions out there among God’s people.
Real and raw emotion that are being stirred up 24/7 by
the news media, social media… censorship…
MAN – it is just absolutely insane out there… it really is.
SO AGAIN – what are we to do, how should we then live.
UNDERSTAND – my really struggle this week was real (and to be honest it still is)
LIKE – what does God want me to share this morning, with you His people?
LIKE – what do we ‘need’ to hear.
NOT – what do we ‘want’ to hear, but what do we need to hear.
AND SO – where I eventually landed was on a conversation that I am calling…
Divided We ARE Falling/Failing
NOW – I do not think that anyone in this room or watching online would disagree with me on the following 2 points…
#1 – THAT we are living in a seriously divided country right now. AND - in my opinion we have never been more divided except during the Civil War.
#2 – THAT the last thing this dark, lost, broken, divided world needs…
IS - a divided church.
IS - for our salt to loose it’s saltiness
IS – for our light to be hidden under a cloud of division among brothers and sisters in Christ.
CHURCH – it is 1/17/21, and there is much division and nastiness and snarkiness… in the church.
NOW – maybe not between people in this room, because in here we tend to keep our opinion on current issues to ourselves (after all that is what we have social media)
BUT UNDERSTAND - all you have to do is scroll through a news feed on social media…
AND - you will see so much bantering, taunting, ridiculing, fighting and attacking going on between Christians.
“I can’t believe you voted for Him”
“I can’t believe you support this”
“I can’t believe that you did this, went there”
“You are a Christian nationalist”
“What happened on January 6 was a Christian insurrection”
“How could you even consider voting for a man like that”
IN FACT – this week I saw here an article posted on my Facebook news feed by a fellow pastor in Idaho,
Evangelicals face a reckoning:
Donald Trump and the future of our faith.
AND WHAT – this article claimed is that Christians who supported and voted for President Trump were basically
in a cult and were worshipping President Trump
and putting their faith in Him, rather than in Jesus.
IN FACT – there is even a conference coming up later this month about removing Trumpism from the church.
BUT LISTEN – the truth is that there are people who attend MGCC (in this room or online) who voted for Trump and others who voted for Biden…
AND – what are we going to do with that.
NOW – if you want to know who I voted for let’s grab some coffee and I will tell you who and why.
MGCC,
FELLOW JESUS FOLLOWERS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS
There is far, far, far too much…
Tension, finger pointing, accusations, and judgmental attitudes out there between Christians.
QUESTION – am I the only one, or have you felt the tension between Jesus followers grow during the last 12 months (with COVID, Mask, Lockdowns, protests, riots, and election).
AND LISTEN – according to Jesus (our Lord and Savior)
Division is a big deal, a huge deal.
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. – Luke 11:17
Division = ruin, falling and failing in our mission
AND MGCC – let’s not be so naive and think that our current divisions will somehow be an exception to this rule, to this truth from Jesus…
Okay here’s the deal
The world will never be won for Christ until we are one in Christ.
GET IT?
AND LISTEN – the reality of this truth is exactly what we see going down in John 17…
Jesus is in the garden, mere moments before His arrest and all the brutality and cruelty that would follow.
(showed picture of Jesus in the garden from the movie The Passion Of The Christ)
AND - His soul as Matthew writes in his 26th chapter…
IS IN - deep anguish and sorrow to the point of death.
AND – He is crying out to God
FIRST – for Himself and what He what was coming… separation from God has he drank the cup of God’s wrath for sin.
SECOND – He cried out for His disciples
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. – John 17:1
AND THEN – Jesus prays for us…
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—
so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. – John 17:20-23
Complete Unity/Oneness = the world will know and more many will be saved
Division/Disunity = the world will not know and countless more will remain lost
LIKE SERIOUSLY – are we going to let – COVID, Masks, political protests and elections hinder this desperate prayer of Jesus?
UNDERSTAND – a divided church (divided Jesus followers)
Will NEVER bring the hope and healing our divided world needs so desperately.
HEY – check out these words that God breathed through the pen of Paul to the divided church in Corinth.
UNDERSTAND – in it we see a powerful principle.
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? – 1 Corinthians 1:10-13
MGCC – is Christ divided?
WAS - (Trump, Biden, the GOP, the DNC) crucified for you?
WERE YOU - baptized into the name of Trump or Biden?
Divided we ARE falling/failing
NOW – you all know how much I love using acrostics to help us/me remember points in a message…..
WELL – I came up with one for this week’s conversation, built around the word S.T.O.P.!
OKAY – here’s the deal…
ALL OF THIS – division, finger pointing, judgmental attitudes accusations, and you voted for that guy shaming
(and I’ve been part of it) Needs to STOP…
BECAUSE – to behave in such ways is so unbecoming for people who have been redeemed and set free by the blood of Jesus, AND WHO – claim to following after Him!
AMEN?
S.T.O.P.!
• Stop being so quick to judge others
• Transformation over conformity
• Overflow all interactions with grace
• Put Jesus and His Gospel first
AND SO – I want to spend our time remaining unpacking each of those statements.
AND LISTEN – let me warn you up front, this could get a little uncomfortable… If it has not done so already.
IN FACT – by the time we are done some people may be ticked off at me.
AND HEY IF – that happens to be you, let’s have a conversation about it as members of the body of Christ.
Amen?!
HOWEVER - before we begin unpacking I want to share a story with you.
It’s one I have shared before
NEVERTHELESS -I think that it is so appropriate for what I am convinced that God wants to accomplished in us this day.
Telemachus was a monk in the 4th century. One day in prayer, He felt called by God to leave immediately and head to Rome.
So he put his possessions in a sack and headed out.
Upon arriving in Rome, he was immediately caught up in the crowd. The crowd was immense and excited. Soon Telemachus found himself giddy with the contagious excitement of those around him.
He wasn’t sure where he was headed but he knew whatever it was, it had to be great, and there was no way he was going to miss out on it.
Within a few moments he found himself deep in the seating area of the Roman Coliseum. Asking those around him, he learned that the Romans had just defeated the Goths, and the emperor had commanded a circus to be held for the celebrating crowd.
As he took his seat, he couldn’t have missed the emperor sitting in his seat of honor. He most certainly would not have missed the arrival of the gladiators into the coliseum.
As the gladiators lined up below the emperor’s seat, together they stood and yelled out: “We, who are about to die, salute you”.
It was the traditional greeting of the gladiators to their emperors, and in that instant he knew exactly what he had stumbled upon. The Bishops and leaders of the church had spoken out about the gladiator games in Rome, yet most believed it was only legend.
In that moment, Telemachus realized it all was true.
Soon the gladiators pulled their weapons and the bloody brawl began just a few hundred yards away from him.
The grotesque nature of the sport appalled him.
Worse yet, was the reactions of those around him.
The spectators where in a blood thirsty ecstasy over what they were seeing.
Telemachus was sickened and shocked.
In that instant he realized that it must stop. From his seat, he yelled out to the warriors: In the Name of Jesus Stop…
But no one heard.
Without thinking he jumped over the wall and into the battle arena of the fighters. The gladiators surprised by the unexpected guests momentarily stopped their fights and stared at the monk.
“IN THE NAME OF JESUS STOP!” he yelled over and over again.
After a few moments, the silence turned to chuckles and outright laughter. One of the gladiators, with a sick enjoyment, took a swing at Telemachus with his sword, just barely missing him. With that the others began to draw their swords.
Soon they were chasing this man, across the field of battle to the laughter of the crowd. Most who witnessed the spectacle thought he was a clown or there for comic relief.
That was until they heard what he was yelling.
For the love of Christ, Stop!…
He ran, jumped, dodged and ducked, and with each passing moment his words grew clearer and louder.
In the name of Jesus, Stop. In the name of Jesus Stop.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS STOP!
Eventually the gladiators surged and when the dust cleared, there laid Telemachus on the ground with a sword in the center of his chest. There was silence in the crowd. It was said in that moment, that his words still echoed in the coliseum; In the name of Christ Stop.
After what seemed like an eternity, one man got up from his seat, and left in silence.
Then another… Then another…
Until everyone got up from their seat and left in silence and disbelief.
The site of the dead monk in the center of the coliseum, and the reaction of the crowd, also led the emperor and his guests to silently stand, turn and leave the coliseum.
After a few minutes, the Gladiators put their swords down and they too left. All that remained in that giant coliseum was the scrawny lifeless body of the young monk.
History claims that this was the very last gladiator game at the coliseum.
The memory of that man screaming to the crowd, and the image of the blood thirsty lust of the crowd had changed the hearts and the minds of the Romans in that instant. Within the hour the emperor issued an edict forbidding any future games of war within the Roman Empire.
There was no more killing in the Coliseum. There were no more gladiator matches in Rome. There was no more killing as sport. All because one man, stood up….and said
“In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
Fellow Jesus followers in the name of Jesus STOP!
Because divided we are falling
Because divided we are failing in our mission
“In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
I. Stop being so quick to judge others
AND MAN – we can all do that (judge others) so quickly can’t we, boom.
I MEAN – it seems like we are we are always ‘locked and loaded’ ready jump and pounce on people almost at a moment’s notice.
Even people we don’t even know all that well, or
People we have not even met
(sometimes I will see a bumper sticker on a car and then I will try to drive up beside them to see what they look like… ‘Oh yeah that what people look like who believe that, support this..’ how sad of me)
NOW UNDERSTAND JESUS (our Lord and Savior and King)– had a few things to say about judging others in His powerful inaugural message we know as The Sermon on The Mount.
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
QUESTION…
DO YOU - think Jesus was/is telling the truth in that last sentence?
The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
SERIOUSLY – would you want to be judged in the same way, and by the same criteria that you judge other people?
• Judged by your worst moments
• Judged by a few misspoken word
• Judge by people who do not even know you or who do not know your full story
LIKE - are you kidding me?
• You voted actually for Trump
• You voted really for Biden
• You don’t wear a mask all of the time
• You wear a mask in your car all by yourself or outside when no one is near you
WELL THEN – if that is true then…you must be (and I’ll let you fill in the blank because you probably have done so more then once)
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?
I love it…
UNDERSTAND MGCC - Jesus does not play around.
I MEAN – He is like ‘hey, you have some serious issues of your, so how about dealing with them first.”
Jesus continues…
Hypocrite!
OKAY – now that is a word that has been thrown around a lot lately. Ironically by both the left and the right after what happened in DC on January 6th…
“Man, what a bunch of hypocrites!!!”
BUT LISTEN – as a Jesus follower before we launch the word ‘hyopcrite’ towards someone else…
Perhaps, we should look in the mirror first.
AMEN
Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. – Matthew 7:1-5
UNDERSTAND - our world is so quick to judge, to label and to cancel, to try and find people guilty in our minds.
BUT B/S – we are not of this world.
We are to live by a different standard.
AMEN!
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
AND – check out what Paul wrote in Romans chapter 14…
NOW – the context is that there were divisions among the Jesus followers in the church in Rome, in matters of opinion,
In fact – he actually says in Romans 14:1…
Accept each other and do not argue over disputable matters or matters of opinion…
AND LISTEN – some of the ‘opinions’ that were causing division in the church at Rome were in regards to…
• Diet (veggies only or I can eat meat too)
• AND - about whether or not some days are more special and needed to be observed by everyone.
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
- Romans 14:9-13
On disputable matters
Divided We ARE Falling/Failing
“In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
STOP being so quick to judge each other
• Especially people you do not know (question who here knows Trump or Biden personally)
• Or whose story you do not know fully…
• Or who you have not even taken the time to have a conversation with.
NOW – I need to say just one more thing before we move on, to the ‘T’ in the word STOP…
YOU SEE – I need to make something clear so that no one misappropriates what I am trying to say…
UNDERSTAND – this is not judging others in regards to sin, but in regards to disputable, in regards to matters of opinion.
NOT – in regards to sin and ungodly behavior.
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
– 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
Divided We ARE Falling/Failing
MGCC - “In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
STOP being so quick to judge others
II. Transformation over conformity
OKAY - check out these God breathed words from Romans chapter 12.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
AND THEN – Paul goes on to tell us about one of the ways that we can do just that (offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing ‘to God.’)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:1-2
UNDERSTAND – one of the reasons the church is divided is because we are being influenced by the ideas, values, believes and norms of this fallen world.
AND LISTEN – here’s the deal…
BECAUSE THIS INFLUENCE – is so subtle
AND BECAUSE – we are literally immersed in worldly views, and in human reasoning and philosophy 24/7…
Through – media, music, social media, movies and our schools and university… we do not even notice how much we have been influenced into conformity.
LET ME – give you an illustration of what I am trying to say…
(SHOW PICTURE OF A SUBMARINE)
NOW – back in the 1980’s this was my home for 3 months at a time. This is the USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN 624.
SO – for 3 months we were under water in this enclosed 425 foot tube. No sun, No sky, no fresh air
NOW - we did have a system called ‘C.A.M.S.’ (continuous air monitoring system) that let us know when CO2 or other gas levels got too high
AND THEN - we would go to snorkel depth, raise induction mast and suck in clean air and blow out the not so clean.
BUT – for 3 months I was literally immersed in this submarine atmosphere.
NOW – whenever I came off patrol do you know what I was never allowed to do… bring my sea bag with all of my clothes into the house… Why?
Because they had been saturated with what we called ‘The Submarine Smell’
I MEAN – I even had to take them to a laundry mat to wash them. AND EVEN - my bible had that unique smell.
But do you know what, I did not smell a thing during those entire 3 months.
I MEAN – like it smelled completely normal.
THAT IS UNTIL - I returned to the boat of few days later.
And let me tell you as I stood topside, above the hatch, getting ready to climb down the ladder… the smell that was pouring into my nostrils was far from pleasant.
BUT AGAIN – for 3 months I did not smell a thing, so in a way you could say that
I had conformed to it.
AND MGCC – that is the way it is living in our culture.
WE – are immersed in it.
WE – are under water 24/7 in a 425 foot enclosed tube.
RESULT – many ways of thinking and living that seem okay to us in this environment, that seem right and normal are not!
NOW – there is one thing that seems normal and many even in the church have accepted it as just being part of who we are in America… ABORTION.
UNDERSTAND – abortion is the taking of a human life knit in the womb by God, and there is ZERO Scripture support for doing it or for supporting it!
YOU SEE – being immersed in the world can cause us to normalize what is wrong and what is sin!
WHICH IS WHY – it is so critical that we regularly climb out of the hatch and pull away from the world by…
Being in His word and with His people at church.
OKAY – one quick question before we move on to the ‘O’ in the word stop…
How do we know if we have conformed to the world?
WELL – here is one way…
WHENEVER WE - find that our values and beliefs are lining up with those of this fallen world
AND WHENEVER WE – find that we are cheering on what they cheering on and celebrating what they are celebrating..
LISTEN – if we ever find ourselves standing on the same side as Hollywood (which is for the most part anti-Jesus and biblical values)
IT - would be wise to for us to 'give pause.' A
fter all Jesus said...
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. – John 15:18,19
UNDERSTAND – Jesus is not calling His church to become WOKE to our culture, but to become AWAKE to His Gospel!
YOU SEE…
When Jesus followers bring truth to a world that loves falsehood, the world will hate us.
When Jesus followers bring righteousness to a world that love and justifies its sin and ungodly behavior the world will hate us.
It’s just the way that Jesus said it will always be.
And Jesus said this in Luke 6…
What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets. – Luke 6:26
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2
AND LISTEN - we renew our minds with the living and active Word of God.
AND THAT – is why it is so important to be reading it on a regular basis.
OUR ELSE – we risk the danger of the ‘submarine smell’ of this world becoming our greatest influencer.
GET IT?
NOW – there is a 2 word term that is pretty common in our day… ‘Fact Checker’
UNDERSTAND MGCC – as a Jesus follower, this needs to be our fact checker as to what is – right or wrong, true or false.
(HOLD UP THE BIBLE)
For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.” – 1 Peter 1:24,25
Divided We ARE Falling/Failing
“In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
STOP being so quick to judge others
TRANSFORMATION over conformity
III. Overflow all interactions with grace
NOW – there is not much grace in our world today, would you agree?
However – I think we all would also agree that things would be so much better if there was more grace.
Raise your hands if you like it, when people show you grace, when they are gracious to you, when they treat you kindly, better than you deserve?
Let your conversation
Your - words, texts, tweets, posts, comments…
be always full of grace,
Full of…
kindness, giving people what they do not deserve,
love, forgiveness, mercy (not giving people what they do deserve)
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
– Colossians 4:6
MGCC – let’s make every effort to overflow all of our interactions with grace.
AND HERE’S THE DEAL – If conversations full of grace are going to rise up in this world… let it begin with us/you/me!
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. – Ephesians 4:29
QUESTION – do you think that obeying this command would help?
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
– Matthew 7:12
AGAIN – do you think that Jesus followers living this way would change the aroma of the world?
Divided We ARE Falling/Failing
“In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
STOP being so quick to judge others
TRANSFORMATION over conformity
OVERFLOW all interactions with grace
IV. Put Jesus and His Gospel first
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
(not the world’s righteousness, not the world’s concept of right and wrong)
and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33
FIRST – is the Greek word ‘proton’ … and it means not ‘first’ as in a list but that which determines everything else.
IN OTHER WORDS – let Jesus’ Kingdom and righteousness determine everything in your life.
PUT JESUS FIRST!
AND LISTEN – Jesus is not the least bit shy in demanding that He comes first…
Check out what He said in Luke 14…
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:25-27
LISTEN – if you are a Jesus follower then Jesus and His Gospel must come first…
First in your words
First in your actions
First in your loyalty
First in your life’s mission
UNDERSTAND MGCC
His Mission takes priority over every earthly movement.
Over the MAGA Movement!
Over the BLM Movement!
Over the Civil Rights Movement!
Over the America first movement!
AND… AND LISTEN
Jesus, His Gospel, and the spread of His kingdom (His rule in the hearts of me) WILL ADVANCE – the good and the right of any earthly cause or movement!
CHURCH – during the last 11 months the evil one, has used so many things to distract us and to move both Jesus and His mission from first place in our lives.
• COVID 19
• Isolation from each other
• Protests
• Riots
• A presidential election
I MEAN IMAGINE
IF WE/YOU/I…
IF – every Jesus follower in this country
Would have put as much energy,
and heart,
and emotion,
and passion,
and time,
and resources,
and activity
IN - His mission
THAN – was put in all of these others things
LIKE - how many lost people could have been saved from the wrath of God and the fires of hell…
YEAH - I cannot help but think that God is pretty disappointed in us, in His church.
YES MAYBE – some of need to repent of our misplaced passion and loyalties!
UNDERSTAND
We are in the world but not of the world
AND - we have a king, His name is Jesus!
We have a citizenship, it is in heaven!
And we have a mission, to go out into the world to make disciples!
Divided We ARE Falling/Failing
MGCC - “In the Name of Jesus Stop!”.
STOP being so quick to judge others
TRANSFORMATION over conformity
OVERFLOW all interactions with grace
PUT Jesus and His Gospel first
I want to conclude with this words written by Paul to God’s people from a prison cell
Whatever happens,
(COVID, injustice, elections, protests, censorship, loss of freedoms)
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,
striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
- Philippians 1:27-2:11
YES – things are really messed up right now
In our world
In the church
We are messed up and we have messed up
BUT
We can still turn things around
We can choose to be a Telemachus
And go out into the divided world and church and tell them
‘In the name of Jesus STOP!!!!!’
Just one more final thought and then we will pray.
The church can never be the hope ‘of’ the world
If it is looking for hope ‘in’ the world
