Take a Stand
- in their heart of hearts, I think all of us here want
to declare openly that we identify with Christ
- but if you're like me, the word "evangelism"
strikes fear in your heart
- somebody did a study a few years back, and found out
the top five reasons people don't evangelize:
- 1.Perceptions of TV preachers
- 2.Too busy
- 3.Fear of rejection
- 4.Too difficult to share
- 5.Too timid
- (source: Christianity Today, Dec. 16, 1991)
- the Bible talks about two men who were too timid to
take a public stand for Christ
- their names were Nicodemus and Joseph
- John 3 tells us that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews
- he would also have been very well off and respected
by people
- we read that Nicodemus came at night
- it was very possible that the reason Nicodemus came
at night was that he was afraid to come during the day
- and of course, evening hours then were much darker
and more secretive than what we experience now with the benefit of electricity
- it's also possible that he might have become a believer
later
- but he appears to have been a secret disciple of Christ
- Joseph was the same, a member of the Sanhedrin
- Luke writes that Joseph was good and righteous
- but John 19 tells us that he was a secret disciple
of Christ, because he feared the Jews
- now probably in no culture has the pressure to conform
been greater than among the Pharisees of Jesus' day
- the Jewish compliance knob had been turned from hot
to hottest
- so for Nicodemus of Joseph to declare that they were
seriously considering the teachings of Jesus was to insure being ostracized
by the religious community, their friends, neighbors, and quite possibly
their families
- it seems apparent that they would also have felt negative
pressure business-wise
- so he kept the secret
- they were undercover Christians
- later, in John 7, the Pharisees ask some officers why
they failed to carry out their orders to arrest Christ
- the soldiers reply, "No one ever spoke the way
this man does!"
- the Pharisees respond angrily, "You mean he has
deceived you also? Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed
in him? No!"
- and Nicodemus, reluctant to let such a statement go
by without some kind of protest, ventures, "Does our law condemn
anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
- but his colleagues retort, "Are you from Galilee,
too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out
of Galilee."
- such a rebuff is enough to keep Nicodemus silent
- after all, who enjoys being embarrassed?
- what Jew wants to be thought of as non-kosher?
- no one likes being a misfit
- with most of us, the thought of bucking the opinions
of others elicits great fear
- but something changed
- we read that in Mark 15, Joseph and Nicodemus finally
went public
- (Mark 15:43) Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member
of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went
boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.
- maybe Joseph's mastering of the moment was the encouragement
Nicodemus needed, because in John 19:39 we read
- (John 19:39) He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man
who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture
of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
- (John 19:40) Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped
it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with
Jewish burial customs.
- Joseph and Nicodemus were no longer undercover Christians
- they now openly declared their association with Christ
- Charles Finney, the famous American lawyer/preacher
of 160 or so years ago, wrote these words in his Revival Lectures:
- Prevalence of the fear of man is evidence of a
slidden heart. If the heart is full of the love of God, the Lord
is feared and not man. A desire for the applause of man is kept
down and it is enough to please God, whether men are pleased or
displeased. But when the love of God is abated, "the fear of
man," that "bringeth a snare," gets possession of
the blackslider. TO please man rather than God, is then his aim.
In such a state he will sooner offend God than man.
- almost without exception, historians agree that mass
communication has made conformity one of the givens in modern society
- present citizens of North America are much more alike
in their thinking than in previous generations
- to state it differently, it's increasingly difficult
to be different
- and it's my conviction that this flaw permeates the
church today as well
- so Christians don't like to share their faith with
others
- they don't want to run the risk of being classified
as "fanatics"
- among friends, believers often refrain from taking
a stand on matters they feel are wrong because they don't want to
embarrass anyone socially
- at school, a silent prayer is not said in the lunchroom
before eating because others might poke fun!
- to avoid upsetting anyone in the neighborhood,
church people don't take a stand on blatant matters like racism,
so such evil continues
- due to social pressures, the call of a young man
or woman to a life of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom remain
stifled
- even in the church when opportunity is given to
share with the body of believers what Christ is doing, you can be
sure certain people will not speak out
- why? Well they say things like, "My thoughts
aren't profound," or "Nobody is interested," but
the more likely reason is "I don't want to risk looking foolish"
- there are people today who have been graciously touched
by God's Spirit, but that fact has not been expressed by their lips
even once
- and it may never be if their present pattern continues
- they fear what others might think
- am I talking about you?
- the Bible says that there is a price to openly declaring
your allegiance to him
- what is this about a price? how high is the price?
what will the toll be?
- here are Jesus' exact words
- Mat 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because
of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Mat 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you,
persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because
of me.
- Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your
reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who
were before you.
- to summarize Jesus' words, heaven will make whatever
price you had to pay on earth worth it
- he does not promise an easy road here on earth, quite
the opposite, he guarantees a tough one
- but he says it will be worth it in spades in heaven
- maybe you say, "We don't hear about price-paying
today"
- "The days of Christians being fed to the lions
is over, aren't they?"
- well, no, not entirely
- what Jesus was saying then he would say today
- my followers will pay a price for believing in me and
living for me, they always have and they always will
- I'll give you a quick overview of why they will pay
the price
- the first reason is the value system of Jesus and
the value of contemporary society, are always in constant conflict with
each other
- there are collisions between those who approach life
from a biblical Christian perspective and those who don't
- these fender benders happen every day, even more in
recent days
- take the problem of irresponsible sexual expression
that's causing unwanted pregnancies by the tens of thousands, sexually
transmitted diseases in the tens of millions, suicide rates going through
the roof
- the culture says, "It's a condom problem with
a condom solution"
- Christ-followers say, "It's not a condom problem,
it's a character problem"
- "The solution isn't for sale in vending machines
on gas-station walls"
- we have to realize we all have a self-destructive gravitational
pull south in all of us called sin
- it distorts our entire understanding of life and sexuality,
and the only way to conquer sin is through Christ
- when a Christian goes on public record with a statement
on this, they're going to feel some heat
- the battle lines are drawn
- when we're asked about our views on homosexuality or
abortion, even if we explain as honestly and gently and non-judgmentally,
the temperature can drop 15 degrees Celsius
- it's not very politically correct to be a dedicated
Christ-follower these days, if you haven't noticed yet
- your polls take a dive in many circles, your overnight
Nielsen ratings take a beating
- when you express views culture finds narrow and parochial
- somebody will say, "You're not the type of Christian
who believes in the Bible, in heaven and hell, are you?"
- people will roll their eyes, and think "you pathetic
person, your naivet� is only eclipsed by your ignorance"
- but what is a Christ follower to do? what do you
do?
- Jesus tells us what to do
- first, stand firm
- don't run scared, don't cave in, don't shrink back,
stand firm
- second, smile on the inside, rejoice and be exceedingly
bad
- why are you smiling? because it feels good? no, you
know Christ is going to make it worthwhile for you someday in heaven
- heaven will make our battle scars on earth worthwhile
- last week's assignment was to challenge something that
you thought was offensive to Christ
- I wonder how many people took this assignment?
- Christ's system and the world's system are always going
to be at odds
- so don't get too comfortable in this world
- another reason why we will take hits in this world
is because Christ-followers unwittingly become moral irritants in this
world if they follow Christ diligently
- you had a real smart person in grade school, and people
hated them because they messed up the curve
- they made the rest of us look really bad
- she wasn't trying to be, she just had a good brain
and wanted to apply herself
- so you, or me, we froze them out
- this happens to a Christ-follower, especially in the
marketplace
- they aren't trying to bug anybody, but because they
play it straight and refuses to play politics, refuses to plunder the
perk chest, because they put in an honest day's work for an honest day's
pay, they get hit
- they are pains and moral irritations
- somebody eventually says, "Would you get off your
high horse? You Christians are all alike, trying to make us look bad"
- what's going on here?
- whenever somebody messes up the moral grading curve,
the curve-buster is ostracized
- Jesus says to this person, stand firm and smile knowing
that great will be your reward
- imagine a married women
- she becomes a Christian
- she doesn't fall out of love with him, just with parties
and rooms full of inebriated people
- and she doesn't want to watch pornography any more
- she doesn't shame her husband, but he says "I've
had it up to here with all your pressure"
- in reality, she isn't preaching
- her lifestyle is causing moral irritation and his moral
backside is exposed
- what did he do? In Jesus words, insult you, persecute
you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me
- she could go back to the parties and pornography, she
doesn't want to lose her husband
- but if his terms are the parties and pornography, what's
she to do?
- but Jesus says, stand firm, grow in integrity and,
I know it's tough, but smile in the inside knowing that the price of
standing firm may be very high on earth but I'll make it worthwhile
in heaven in spades
- this is not Christianity 101, this is industrial strength
- one more reason
- you are probably going to be lumped in with somebody's
worst experience with a religious group
- you're going to take hits you don't deserve
- lumped in with Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, David Korresh
and the fellows
- it's uncomfortable, but it's inevitable
- people can be very suspicious of us because they've
been beat up and ganged up by other Christians
- and some of them have been burned by preachers who
have had affairs and messed up
- not all Christians are alike
- but we get stereotyped and lumped in together
- what do you do? when you're lumped in unfairly with
fringe elements of Christianity
- stand firm, and whenever you're lumped in with Christian
crackpots, smile on the inside
- but don't shrink back
- don't put your light under a bushel
- in the unlikely event that we wind up living in a culture
were there's overt hostility and persecution, can we play out in our
minds what we'd do?
- there are places right now where people are gathering
doing what they're doing at the risk of imprisonment and death
- if the threat of imprisonment hung over this, would
you come?
- would you come to the communion table, share your faith,
read the Bible?
- Jesus knew what was going to unfold, the single most
brutal time of persecution against Christians
- people were going to be tortured, fed to lions, for
admitting they're Christ followers
- Jesus knew what was going to happen, and said stand
firm when you're thrown into the Coliseum
- he also said, smile on the inside
- families were thrown to the lions singing praises to
God
- and Jesus says to us, stand firm, take the hits, don't
shrink back, because whatever the price you have to pay on this earth,
great is your reward in heaven
- Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and
in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
- some of us are ashamed of Jesus
- the Bible tells us that if our faith is a secret from
our co-workers, friends and neighbors, Jesus Christ will be ashamed
of us
- we are God's Plan A, and He doesn't have a Plan
B
- the great commission applies to all of us, not an evangelism
committee, not the pastors
- it's not a matter of whether it's practical or not,
it's a matter of obedience
- so I'm going to ask you to take a public stand this
next week
- I'm going to ask you to declare openly in some way
that you are a follower of Jesus Christ, no matter what the reaction
