Inoculate Your World!

clique

n : an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose; A small exclusive group of friends

Mark 2:15-17: Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”  When Jesus heard it, He said to them,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

One thing that I have come to realize is that the church has become a clique. We have our small circle of friends--Christian of course--and no one else is allowed within our esteemed group. It's as if we fear by opening our circle to "the world" we will become contaminated by the sinners. So we continue to live our lives in our little "bubble" or sphere we have created. We become "hyperspiritual" and no earthly good to those that are on the outside of our "spiritual bubble." We forget that it is the thing inside a heart that contaminates it and not what is outside. So the church becomes an aquarium to keep out "the world" instead of a river of life that flows out and our waters become stagnant.

This became painfully apparent to me last night at my candle party. I had one person at my party who was not from my "church clique." And she didn't even really know me--I just introduced myself a couple weeks ago. Our sons have played together for months and I just never took the time to meet her and get to know her. I was content to stay safe inside my "bubble."

What good is a light if it is hidden? A cluster of candles is not as effective as ones that are scattered throughout the house. A cluster of candles will only light a small area. But candles that are spread throughout a house will bring light to the whole house. Even so, our light cannot be seen in the world if it is hidden within the walls of our church and our homes. We expect people to come to the light--but do they know where to go? We are supposed to take the light to them. Jesus took the light of the Gospel to the people. He did not stay within the confines of the temple, but took His love outside wherever He went. In fact He was often accused by the "religious people" for hanging out with sinners. Why did he hang out with sinners? Because that's who He came to save. (Mark 2:17)

When we do not open our spheres and make connections with those on the outside--we become as a religious sect. We lose touch with the outside world and have no influence with them. We become "strange" to those who are the outside looking in. We begin to get a "holier than thou" attitude and instead of creating an outlet for God to flow through, we begin to compete with one another in the church seeing who can be "more spiritual." We become spiritual hermits. We want to stay on the mountain and forget that we are supposed to be leading people to God. We become spiritually selfish--we feast at God's table becoming fat and forget that there are people that are spiritually starving who need the Bread of Life.

We should be making connections with the outside world wherever we go--in the grocery store, at the Post Office, in our neighborhood--we should know our neighbors, at the gas station, etc.... We should be ministering outside of the church. That's where our ministry is needed. Too many times our focus becomes turned inward instead of outward where it needs to be. We become self-centered and self-absorbed. We forget there is a bigger picture. We complain about the degradation of humanity, yet we do nothing about it. If we have Christ living inside of us, we should be transforming our world! We should be transforming our workplace, our neighborhood. Our sphere of influence needs to be enlarged. We need to get a vision for the world around us.

There's a song I learned at Sunday School as a child that I still love today. "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. All around my neighborhood, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine around the world, I'm gonna let it shine." This needs to be our song. We need to start letting our light shine outside of the four walls of the church. A light that is hidden is of no use. A light that is contained is of no benefit.

What would happen if instead of fearing we would be contaminated by the world, we began to inoculate the world with the love of God? The world is sick--they are looking for a cure. We have the antidote and we are keeping it all to ourselves. Now isn't that selfish? Jesus did not come for the righteous--He came for those that are sick. Even so, He is calling us to minister to those who are sick--to bind up the broken hearted and proclaim freedom to the captives. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. Do not say "tomorrow" for tomorrow may not come. Now is the time!

The House of God vs. The House of Rebellion

I was studying the Old Testament yesterday and God showed me something about Solomon. Solomon built a temple for the Lord--a place of worship--on the top of Mount Moriah. The splendor and beauty of this temple were never equaled in all of Israel's history. Mount Moriah was the mountain upon which Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac. Moriah means chosen by God. When God begins to build in us a temple, He builds it upon the foundation of His choosing. We are built upon the Rock, which is Christ Jesus. Our foundation is laid in the blood of Christ and His sacrifice for us. We are called to present our lives as a sacrifice--holy and acceptable unto God. (Romans 12:1) The foundation of our spiritual temple must be laid upon the burial ground of self and self-will.

It took Solomon seven years to build the temple of God. Seven symbolizes completion and perfection in the Spirit. The Psalmist tells us that if God does not build the house, then those who attempt to build it (themselves) will labor in vain. When God builds something, it is perfect and complete. When He created the earth, He saw that it was good (perfect). Just as the caterpillar does not strive to become a butterfly, we cannot attempt to build our own temples--it is a working of the Holy Spirit through grace--not by our own labors and works, lest any man should boast. All we have to do is yield and submit to the Holy Spirit. Have you ever noticed that when people are dead, they don't do any resisting? Their spirit and soul has been released. They don't strive anymore. Even so, we have to be buried in death, so that we can be raised to new life. The caterpillar goes through the cocoon phase where it remains dormant--it appears as if it has died and has been wrapped in burial clothes. But soon, a beautiful butterfly emerges from the enclosed tomb. The caterpillar had to go through a process of "death" in order to be transformed and changed. There is an order to things. There is a pattern we must follow if we want to see the end result. Just as those who build a house follow a blueprint and a pattern in the natural realm, there is a pattern we must follow in the spiritual realm so that God can build us as His temple.

When Solomon began to build his own palace, it took him thirteen years to complete it. Thirteen is the number of rebellion. When we begin to walk out of the order of God, we begin to walk in rebellion. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon tells of his labor in building his empire (kingdom) saying, "I made my works great, I built myself houses...I also gathered for myself silver and gold..." It was all about his (own) works and his (own) labor. Later he acknowledged his folly and said that it was vanity and futility--like grasping for the wind. He goes on to say " Do people really gain anything from their work? I saw the hard work God has given people to do. God has given them a desire to know the future. He does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what He is doing." (Ecclesiastes 3:9-11 New Century Version) Sometimes we don't understand God's timing or what He is trying to build. But if we attempt to do it in our own power--it will end in futility and frustration.

God wants us to focus on His temple. We are the temple of God. In the book of Haggai we read that the people had an imbalance in spiritual priorities. After years of frustration over not being able to rebuild the temple, most people had just given up on the idea. They did not have the money to complete such an expensive project. (Note: When God begins to build His temple, it will cost us something. It will require sacrifice.) Instead of using their money to build God's temple, they began to use it to build nice homes for themselves. Their priorities were messed up. They were trying to build their own house instead of a house for God. Haggai challenged the people to set up higher priorities and do what God desires and what glorifies Him.

"After working on the temple for two months, it was clear the new temple would be much smaller than Solomon's temple and without gold on the walls, floor and furniture. Many thought the temple would be an embarrassment, not worth the effort. But is exterior beauty what the temple is all about? Haggai challenged the people to set higher priorities, for God's Spirit would strengthen them. He owns all the gold in the world. In spite of the unimportance of exterior beauty, God gave this new temple great glory when Cyrus (king of Persia) paid for the full cost of the temple." (And the glory of the latter house shall be greater.) Old Testament Survey II

If we begin to focus on God's house--seeking that His kingdom be established and seeking after righteousness and holiness in our own lives, then all "these things" will be given to us. We need to do first things first. We are not building our own empire; we are building the kingdom of God.

Something to consider:
"Holiness precedes blessing...holiness is not just gained by being in the temple (church) or coming into contact with something holy. Haggai saw that the people were defiled and needed holiness, not just a series of ritualistic observances in the new temple. Once holiness was their priority, they would receive God's blessings.