You may recall that Jesus prayed to the Father that we would be kept from the world since we are not in or part of the old worldsystem and values any longer….
In one of the examples Jesus gave us, He said that you can’t put new wine in old flasks. If you try, the flasks will burst and the wine will be lost. When wine ferments, it expands and if it is in flasks that have already been stretched to their limit, they will burst. We likewise, can’t contain the new wine of God’s kingdom system and values, it we hold on to the old mind set. They are incompatible and unsustainable.
John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love [you as] its own. However, you are not of the world, and because I have chosen you out of it, the world is in opposition to you”.
John 17:11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, that you might keep them in Your name, that they may be one even as We are. v12 While I was with them, I kept them in Your name and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. v13 But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. v14 I have given them Your word; and the world has opposed them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. v15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. v16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. v17 Sanctify them in the truth, for Your word is truth. v18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world”. If you capsulized this prayer of Jesus, it would be… “May they be Insulated, but not Isolated” …..
A submarine can't fulfill its purpose unless it is in the water. It must be submerged into the ocean before it can be effective. Even though the sub is surrounded by water, again, it can’t fulfill its purpose if the water gets inside the submarine. Being in the water without the water being in the sub, is all possible because before it went into the sea, it was insulated and all possible areas were sealed so the ocean would stay outside the vessel.
Astronauts can survive and fully function in the deadly void of space, because they are self contained. They have space ships and suits which are carefully insulated so that they can venture into the deadly environment of space, accomplish their mission, and return to the life sustaining environment of earth. They are insulated but not isolated.
However, Monks would go to live in monasteries, far removed from everyone, high on some mountain top, where they felt they could be spiritual by escaping from "the world" so they wouldn't be tempted by it. But how could they be "the light of the world", which Jesus called us to be, if they were not in it?
One of the big accusations against Jesus by the Isolationists of His day, was that “He was the friend of tax collectors (or crooked people), prostitutes, and sinners”
Remember that he told the tax collector, Zacchaeus that he was coming to his house to have fellowship with him…. It really raised eyebrows!
And don’t forget, Lazarus, the friend of Jesus who was raised from the dead, well, he was the brother of Mary who was a former prostitute before she met Jesus. Matthew, who was chosen as an apostle, was a tax collector till he met Jesus. (and tax collectors were hated by the people, because they made money by taking more than was required for themselves)
When Jesus prayed for those He had taken out of the world, He knew that the pull of the former life would always be there trying to pull them back when they were discouraged, or facing heavy opposition. Like the Israelites when they left Egypt and whenever they ran into hardships, they started longing for what they had when they were back in bondage to the Egyptian masters. They saw the old ways and patterns as a comfortable place to land, but isn’t it interesting how they remembered the good and chose to ignore the bad which was why they left.
Jesus knew the danger of making new life decisions based on old world mind sets, like Peter when he denied the Lord 3 times….
Luke 6:13 “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and the world’s values.”
I like the account of a native tribe in New Guinea who transformed an old world mind set into a new life application… At one time, this tribe would have rituals, songs, and dances, where they worked themselves up into a frenzy which culminatedin what was called “the murder songs.” In this ritual, they shouted out the names of the people they wished to kill. When the natives became Christians, they retained these customs and that ritual, but with a big difference…. in the murder songs, they no longer shouted the names of the people they hated, but the names of the sins they hated, and called on God to destroy them. A pagan custom had been captured for the glory of God.
That’s called in the world but not of the world…
Just think... if every Christian leads one person to Christ this year, then 100 million believers will be added to the Christian community this year! But the tragedy is that every minute, people go out into eternity without Christ. Every minute, people are dying having never heard the Gospel.
If you almost made it, then you didn’t make it…. If you almost did it, then you didn’t do it…. If you almost got there, then you didn’t get there… If you were dropping a nuclear bomb, almost hitting the target would be fine…. Anything close would do… But when it comes to salvation, there will be many that came close, but will be lost without Christ. It was King Agrippa who told Paul, “You have almost persuaded me”…. So, Agrippa died with an almost, saved confession upon his lips ….
Here’s some people who wouldn’t accept almost…. Johnny Fulton was run over by a car at the age of three. He suffered crushed hips, broken ribs, a fractured skull, and compound fractures in his legs. It did not look as if he would live. But he would not give up. In fact, he later ran the half-mile, for the U.S. in less than two minutes, setting a U.S. record for that time….
Walt Davis was totally paralyzed by polio when he was nine years old, but he did not give up. He became the Olympic high jump champion in 1952.
Shelly Mann was paralyzed by polio when she was five years old, but she would not give up. She eventually claimed eight different swimming records for the U.S. and won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
Lou Gehrig was such a clumsy ball player that the boys in his neighborhood would not let him play on their team. But he was committed. He did not give up. Eventually, his name was entered into baseball's Hall of Fame.
Speaking of almost, but not getting it…..
The preacher’s Sunday sermon was Forgive Your Enemies. Toward the end of the service, He asked his congregation, “how many of you realize that you need to forgive all your enemies”?Everyone raised their hands except Mrs. Jones. The preacher asked her, “Mrs. Jones? Aren’t you willing to forgive your enemies? “I don’t have any.” she replied, as she smiled sweetly.“Mrs. Jones, That is very unusual. How old are you?” “Ninety-eight,” she replied. “Mrs. Jones, would you please come down in front of this congregation, before we dismiss, and tell us how a person can live ninety-eight years and not have an enemy in the world.” The sweet little lady slowly walked down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said “I just outlived all of the old hags.” (I believe Mrs. Jones missed somethingin the message)
This entry was found in Missionary David Livingston’s diary… “Send me anywhere, if You just go with me. Lay any burden on me, if You’ll just sustain me. Sever me from any bondsbut the bonds that tie me to Your service and to Your heart”.
Jesus says we are in the world…. That’s ADAPTATION… we build relational bridges, we establish foundations, and we find common interests, but we are not of the world, because that’s about RESERVATION…. We have been reserved for another. Just as a wife or husband are no longer free range…. They are reserved for one another, they may be in a crowd with eligible wannabees, but they are not available…. I can mingle but I better not mate! I can scan but I better not smooch… I am reserved! That’s Adaptation with a Reservation!!! Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul, or what shall he give in exchange for his soul.”
What if, after many years of marriage, someone came up to their spouse and said, “Honey we’ve had a great 60 years together, and I have been 75% faithful to you”… that person would probably feel that 75% is not being faithful at all. What if we felt that way about our loyalty to Jesus Christ. Well, Lord, You know that you can count on me to be 75% faithful.. I’ll obey you 75% of the time”
That’s not Insulation and it’s not reservation.
Insulation and reservation are about boundaries in our lives…
The trouble we’re all in today, is because Adam and Eve ignored the boundaries God set for them in the garden.
Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. v16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, v17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die, or (death would come into the world)”.
When Adam and Eve ignored the boundaries God had set, it opened the flood gates for every manner of sin and wickedness. The dam which held Satan and his demons back, broke open and it took over 3800 years till Jesus came to reinforce the boundaries and offer believers the opportunity to get it right…
Noah came along 1700 years after Adam and his family were the only ones to escape the flood and give the earth a second chance because Noah, set boundaries. It wasn’t just the arc, but boundaries that insulated Noah and his family and spared them from the flood.
Scripture says that we are sealed, (that’s another word for insolated)
Ephesians 1:13 tells us that having received Christ, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That’s a consensual application by God’s will acting upon our will…. To protect, reserve and Identify us.
Joshua was used of God to lead the people into the promised land, and was chosen as leader in place of Moses… But have you understood why he was chosen. It was because he set boundaries in his life and in his family life. He was insulated but not isolated….
Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve the LORD Jehovah. v15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”.
There is much controversy over the issue concerning our national borders. Many feel that protecting the border is not an important issue, others are chanting “Build that wall”… For me, the issue is not about keeping people out, it is about preserving and protecting America. Forces that want to destroy our country and our way of life, too easily cross our borders with evil intent… Our children and our loved ones deserve better than living at the mercy of those who would do us harm.
We don’t have to be isolated from the world, to be insulated at our borders. Moses was willing to save all who would come into the arc, and for 100 years he issued the invitation but folks wanted another way…
Whenever we ignore healthy boundaries in our personal life, we are inviting forces that don’t have our best interest, to invade us freely! Those forces are coming to kill, steal and destroy! And to keep us from living the best life that God wants us to enjoy.
“Let’s make this the best Christmas ever.” That’s what the sign said that was seen hanging in a store window as the Christmas season was approaching. (by the way, as of today, there are only 19 shopping days till Christmas)… Anyway, the message in the store window had that message. Underneath, a very insightful person had scribbled a legitimate question in large magic marker.
It said, “How will we ever do better than the first Christmas?”
Jesus chose to leave heaven and refuse to be isolated, even though He was insulated, so that He might be in the world but not of the world! Philippians 2:7 “But [He] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross”.
If He had not made that choice, He would never have left heaven to come to this sinful world. Willing to experience all that affects us.
He would have never touched a leper or spoke with the woman at the well. He would never have ventured into Solomon’s Portico where the infirmed waited for the stirring of the water. He would never have raised Lazarus’ decaying body from the grave. Hewould never have hung between two thieves on Golgotha! Nor would He have ever visited you or me with the invitation to come back home where we were intended to be!
Our Lord Jesus did not live in isolation and He did not ignore the problems of the world, but He engaged the world with His Gospelof truth, mercy and grace. He came to challenge the status quo of sin and the degradation of mankind. He came to transformpeople from hopelessness and helplessness to new life and God centeredness in Him.
We have a savior, a redeemer, an advocate with the Father, and a resurrected Lord and King, because He was insulated but not isolated!
What does this all say to us…. In the words of Jesus “As theFather has sent Me, so send I you.. My plan is now your plan”….
When a generator produces electricity, the current is sent from the generator to the receiving object through an insulated wire. If the wire loses its insulation, the power is shorted out and lost, so that the intended object never receives the benefit. If the insulation is maintained, the power is effective and dynamic.
The word “power” in scripture is Dunamis… which refers to not only the source or Dynamo, but also the application of the power as it is released. Jesus Christ has given us spiritual power for ministry, but that power flows through us effectively and efficiently only as we are insulated from the world and its draining and grounding influences.
In the world but not of the world, insulated but not isolated, adaptation with reservation.. that the power of Christ may rest upon us and that we might allow His power to flow through us to a very, very needy world.
When D.L. Moody was visiting England he heard Henry Varley say, "the world has yet to see what God will do with a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to the Holy Spirit." Moody would later write, "He said 'a man." He did not say a 'great man' nor 'a learned man' nor a 'rich man' but simply 'a man.' I am a man, and from the moment I heard that, I have tried my utmost to be that man."
Fritz Kreisler, the famous violinist, testified to this point when he said, "Narrow is the road that leads to the life of a concert violinist. Hour after hour, day after day and week after week, for years, I lived with my violin. There were so many things that I would like to have done, that I chose to leave undone; there were so many places I would like to have gone, that I chose to miss if I was to master the violin. The road that I traveled was a narrow road and yes, it was hard, but to do all that and fail at the violin, and not be true to myself, would be much harder to bear." After one of his concerts, a woman rushed up to him in tears and said, "I would give my life to play as beautifully as you do." And Kreisler simply replied, "Young lady, that’s what I did."
I want to close with Matthew 7:16 where Jesus tells His disciples, “By their fruit you shall know them”…. Wow.
We all know the account of Jesus cursing the fig tree. He had gone to Jerusalem on Sunday for Passover. He had returned on Monday, when he entered on what is known as “The triumphant entry”… and on His way back to Bethany, He was hungry, saw a fig tree filled with leaves, but no figs. He cursed the fig tree, in Matthew 21:19, and on Tuesday they see the tree dead, and He goes into the city and cleanses the temple, turning over the money changers tables and driving them out with a whip.
Flash back to the fig tree….. Scripture says it was not the time for figs, and yet Jesus cursed the tree for not having figs. What we miss here is that Fig trees get figs before they get leaves.
So the tree missed it’s purpose by getting leaves without producing any fruit….
Again, hear Jesus…..”By their fruit (not their leaves) you shall know them. They had the leaves of a fig tree but not the fruit of a fig tree….
Jesus warned us that there would be those who had a form of Godliness but no power…
They had no insulation, so God’s power was shorting out in their lives, by being grounded out by the things of the world. They look the part, they even act the part, but why is there no fruit!!!
Oh God, may we bear fruit and not just leaves to lay before you…. May your power flow thru us in such a way that you will be honored and glorified. We desire to exalt you and lift you high, that the world may see and know, that you live in us and still save, heal, and deliver today!!!
