Have you ever felt like a "duck out of water"? It’s my understanding that the term means you feel out of place… like you just didn't belong. Perhaps you went somewhere in casual clothes, while everyone else was in tuxedoes, and you felt rather conspicuous and out of the groove that everyone else was in, (or is that a rut?). Or maybe you found yourself in a group of people who were swearing or telling off-color jokes, and you didn't quite know what to do or how to react. From time to time, we all feel conspicuous or out of place, like we don't belong. I used to dream as a kid that I was at a party and everyone was dressed up and I was in my BVDs.
You’re exceptional!...I heard TD Jakes say that…. You’ve got to understand that you’re the exception so THAT makes you exceptional. What kind of thinking requires that you be like everyone else? Because everyone else left the Keys except you…. Hey you’re exceptional! Because everyone else does drugs and gets drunk every week-end but you… OH, YEAH, BABY…. You’re exceptional! None of your friends ever attend church, but you… God says You’re exceptional!.. You are a paradox, and Webster defines Paradox as “a person, opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted standards…something that is contrary to conventional wisdom”… (Just don’t go getting crazy on me now!)
John 17:14 Jesus says “I have given them Your word; and the world has rejected them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. v15 I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the that is in the world. v16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. v17 Sanctify (hag-ee-ad'-zo…purify and cleanse) them through Your truth, Your word is truth. v18 Just as You have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. v19 And for their sakes I sanctify (purify and cleanse) myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. v20 I do not pray for these alone, but for all those also which shall believe on me through their word. v21 That they all may be one; as You, are in me Father, and I in You, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that You have sent me. v22 Andthe glory which You gave me I have given them”.
The word “sanctify” is from the noun “Sanctuary” which is a place reserved and set apart for God’s presence. You can see that just as God left clear instructions for the cleansing and purification of the sanctuary on a constant basis, so likewise, we see that we are to cleanse and purify our living sanctuaries as God’s dwelling place. All the furnishings, all the instruments, as well as the sanctuary itself, were to be purified daily and throughout the day. The oil in the Menorah was to be changed every day, representing the freshness of the flow of the Spirit… This was God’s visible dwelling place, where His Glory was to be seen, letting the people know that He was with them, in their midst, working among them….
I would say that this statement of Jesus that we are “in the world but not of the world”… is the daily challenge which every believer faces…to keep your Christian experience fresh each day!
The only place you hear a disciple cursing, is when Peter was denying Jesus…. The only place they are found drunk, is on the day of Pentecost when they were under the influence of the Spirit with a capital “S”. The only time they became violent, was when Peter cut off the ear of the man who had come to take Jesus, and Jesus put the ear back on….. and said “put away your sword”….
To cleanse the sanctuary is to remove the old stuff and make room for the new stuff…. A new Lord and Master, new motives, new outlook, new attitude, a new way of talking, new priorities, new goals and a new you!
If you live in a world where everyone has two heads, 4 arms or 3 eyes, then you are different if you have one head, two legs and two eyes….(I know mom’s need an eye in the back of their heads,but..) Be the best difference you can be and make a difference….
If you live in a world where everyone curses, smokes, drinks and beats their wife and you don’t… You’re different… Be the best difference you can be and make a difference….
It’s OK to be different….I know there are those who say “I am in a leadership position, and if I don’t curse like them, drink like them, smoke like them and hang out at the bar with them, they won’t respect me….
(you’ve been watching too many Clint Eastwood movies) …. If you feel the need to go to the bar for a witness, then order a Root Beer or a Doctor Pepper, cause we all need a Dr. sometimes!
As a Christian I am called to bless not “Dam this, or Dam that”… Instead of using a curse word, how about saying “Bless God”, or “Thank God” or just “Well how about that” instead!
Listen, the world is looking for a solution and an answer to a sin problem that plagues all mankind… if you are trying to be just like them, then believe me, they will never find it!!!
There is a sign along the Alaskan Highway that reads: “Choose your rut very carefully, because you’ll be in it for the next 200 miles.”
Jesus says… “Be in the world but not of the world”…. Jesus prayed to His Father, "I do not ask you to take them (His disciples) out of the world, but to keep them from the world." What that translates into is this…. Jesus loves me more than I could ever imagine, more than anyone has ever loved me, but he loves me enough to not leave me like He found me….
I know that Jesus was accused by the holy men of his day of hanging out with publicans and sinners… but it also says that “there was no sin in Him”…. True we’re not perfect, just forgiven… but don’t push it!
Don’t be a “Johnny one note”…..If our spiritual life was like the keys on a keyboard. We would need to play more than one note all the time…(keep hitting one key) It wouldn’t be much of a concert if the pianist only played one note….. don’t let your one note be … “I sin, but I’m forgiven”… “I sin, but I’m forgiven”…“I sin, but I’m forgiven”… There are other notes on the keyboard…There’s the victorious key, the overcoming key, the triumphant key, the redeemed key, the I’m exceptional key, and on we could go….
Let your testimony be “I am in the world but not of the world”….. Let’s major on overcoming, and victory and triumphant living, not how much sin grace will tolerate!!!
A man once claimed that he was a "war baby," that his parents had taken one look at him and started fighting. Well, we are born into a world of trouble and the sparks fly upward…. It doesn’t take long for each child to discover that we live in an imperfect world filled with imperfect people who can be downright nasty or unkind. You find that life simply isn't fair. Which is the reason that we can’t allow successes to go to our head and we can’t allow failures to fill our heart….
Jesus wants us to be in the world, where the sin and brokenness and scars of life are…. Some people have great beauty or brains, health or wealth, while your portion of any of the above may seem rather small or non-existant. But we are to be like the submarine, Insolated but not isolated. A submarine can't fulfill its purpose if it is out of the water. It must be submerged in the ocean before it can be effective. Even though the sub is surrounded by water, the water can't get inside because it is insulated. The submarine has been prepared ahead of time, before it went into the sea, to have all possible areas sealed where leaks might occur. Your prayer time, bible study, and sitting under the preaching of the word with other believers, can expose any possible leaks…. The sub is insulated but not isolated! The Lord wants us to influence and make a difference in the world around us-- but not for the world to shape and fashion us….
I believe that when Jesus comes into someone’s life, He takes the "W" out of "Where, When", and What” He replaces the “W” with a “T” and gives you There, Then and That…. And He becomes the “There” the “Then” and the “That” of our lives….. He takes our questions and transforms them into answers!
Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by this you may discern what is the will of God, and what is good and acceptable and perfect”.
Are we natives or pilgrims?.... A scuba divers know they are visiting the undersea world for only a brief amount of time. In the world but not of the world asks the question of all of us…. … Is this our home or are we just passing through on our way home?
A scuba diver can be comfortable in the water because he isbreathing the air from the world above. He takes his environment with him as he enters another environment. Believers are exhorted to be the salt of the world and the light of the world. Salt is worthless if it is no longer salty. Light is worthless if it cannot be seen, and a hidden flame is eventually snuffed out…..If we become like the world, we cannot save it or change it. DON’T SPEND MORE TIME JUSTIFYING WHAT YOU DIDN’T DO, THAN YOU SPEND OBEYING WHAT YOU SHOULD DO!!!
No matter where we are we should be able to say “The Lord is in this place”….The awareness of God's presence helped Jacob in a challenging time that he went through. He was alone under the stars, in the trial of his life, when he saw a stairway with angels ascending and descending on it. He woke up and said, Genesis 28:12 "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.... How awesome is this place!" Through that glimpse of the dual nature of his journey, he was able to continue and finish his assignment.
If only we could live each moment of every day with that awareness, thinking: "Surely the Lord is in this place and in my life. Because of that, How awesome is this place, and how awesome is life itself”!
We are a dichotomy… In this realm of time, we base our hopes on things that are timeless…. In this realm of the visible, we see the invisible…. In this realm of the temporary, we touch the eternal… in a world that is constantly shifting and changing, we cling to the unchanging and unalterable… He’s the same yesterday, today and forever!
The teacher asked Bobbie, “Is the world round”…. Bobbie says “No”… She asks, “Then is it flat”… He says “No”… She says “Then what is it”… Bobbie says “It’s crooked!”…. Well, it may be a pretty crooked world, but we each can make a difference. I just read that if every Christian leads one person to Christ this year, then 100 million will be added to the Christian community in this year!
God works with the domino effect…. You may feel that you can’t make much of a difference, but God works with the domino effect…. It’s amazing, some of the domino effects people have set up…. But think of this… it only takes one domino in the series, to fail or to be out of place, or missing, and the entire effect is stopped at that one domino…. It’s about one touching another one, and so on and so on….. until there is a chain reaction that affects them all…. I am celebrating the domino effect in our family….
October is pastor appreciation month, and this month, I am appreciating and celebrating my Pastor wife, Winnie, my Pastor son David, my Pastor daughter-in-law Vickie, and my Pastor son, Chris, my Pastor daughter-in-law Christi, my God chasing daughter Karen and son-in-law Jason.....My Pastor grandson, Pepper, my Pastor granddaughter-in-law Kyla...and my Missionary granddaughter Zoe....WOW! How could I possibly be so blessed and favored by my Heavenly Father! Thank You Lord….and all my kids grew up in Key West! In the world but not of the world….Hallelujah!...Then there’s Winnie’s brother John, Craig and Linda, Craig’s brother Gregg and Nancy, who are pastors as well….
Guttenberg had it right, the bible was the first thing published when the printing press was invented by him sometime before 1456. And from that small beginning, the bible is now printed in more than 1,907 languages. It has changed countries and kingdoms. It has transformed multitudes of lives and heaven has swelled it’s numbers, because one man lived in the world but not of the world. That same Word of God, will be the last thing in force when time closes and everything else has faded into history! What would happen if we put as much effort in things that are eternal as we do those things that will all pass away!
Let’s talk about Adaptation and Reservation….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 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 Reservation!!!
Jesus was 100% Jewish, and yet He was 100% God. The bible calls Him “The son of man”, and yet it also calls Him “the Son of God”, He was in the world but not of the world…. No matter where you’ve been, what’s important is where you’re going, and who you’re going to take with you…. You want to start an “out of this world dynasty”, and spawn a “generation of pilgrims”, who are just passing through, together with you….Adapting but Reserved for another….
Colossians 3:1 “If you have then been raised up with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. v2 Set your affection (fron-eh'-oon… to be predisposed) on things above, not on things on the earth. v3 For you are dead,(to your old life) and your (new) life is hidden with Christ in God”.
It is in doing this that we become a light in darkness, an ambassador of freedom in a world of bondage, a speaker of truth in the midst of deception and scams, a solid place in sinking sand, and a safe place in the raging storm….
Behind the gorgeous sunset and the colors of spring and the beauty and wonder of the coral reef, Creation is groaning. Beyond the most wondrous experiences of our lives, we still sense an incompleteness. You can hear it in songs that are sung…(especially country songs) I lost my dog, my wife and my best friend… it tells the story of our constant craving for what we can't find. It’s like trying to capture the snow of Alaska in a bottle and bring it to Key West but it melts as soon as you bottle it…. (Hey, thanks for the water, but we already have water everywhere here)
And You would like to go back to the “good old days” but you discover that you can’t go back, You’ve changed and so has everyone else that you knew… I recently found the alumni page on Face Book, to my High school, Blackstone High school.
As I looked through the pictures of my contemporaries who were in my classes… I kept thinking….MAN THEY ARE ALL SO OLD! Time has come and gone and we look at the strange faces of the people we knew so well. They now have snow on top, or no snow at all, bubbles in the middle instead of six-pax, the shoulders droop a little, and life has etched itself on their sweet faces! Life has left it’s defining mark!!
There’s a stranger in my house. A strange old man has moved into my house. I have no idea who he is, where he came from, or how he got in. I certainly did not invite him. All I know is that one day he wasn't there, and the next day he was. He manages to keep out of sight for the most part, but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of him. And there he is, hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body. And he has done something to the volume controls on my TV, radio and telephone. Now all I hear are mumbling and whispering. He has taken the fun out of shopping for clothes. When I try something on, he stands in front of the dressing room mirror and won’t move. He looks totally ridiculous in some of those outfits he wears, and he keeps me from seeing how great they look on me. And just when I thought he couldn't get any meaner, he came along when I went to get my picture taken for my driver's license, and just as the camera shutter clicked, he jumped in front of me! Now everyone is going to think that the picture of that old man is me.
Speaking of this old world, folks are trying to find happiness in their superficial lives and behind their shallow masks. They try to find fulfillment in fancy cars, bigger homes and expensive jewelry, and fill the void with drugs, alcohol and pleasure. It’s the pursuit of the masses to find the rainbow's end and the pot of gold that's not there! Because when you get to where it was, it’s not there anymore, it’s somewhere else…. John Lennon's song "Nowhere Man" captures this paradox…"He's a real nowhere man/ Sitting in his nowhere land/ Making all his nowhere plans/ For nobody. But the psychiatrist, and therapists and rehab clinics are making a fortune. This world is not enough and the things of this earth will always leave you wanting more. Because we are eternal beings who shall never be really satisfied until we fill up what’s missing with the Kingdom of God which shall never pass away, thru Jesus Christ, the savior of the World and our redeemer. Let’s hear from Saint Augustine, who found his freedom and redemption in 386 A.D. by bringing his desires to the Lord. He was a womanizer, heavy drinker, and was living with a concubine who had given him a son, when He came to Christ. He said, "How sweet all at once it was, for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared so much to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all other pleasures”.
Certainly if anyone had their challenges, David did. If anyone had all the pleasures of this world, David did….and when all was said and done…No matter how it may appear, it’ only temporary.
David called the Lord his greatest joy in….(Psalm 43:4). He said, "Serve the Lord with gladness" in Psalm 100:2… and he told us to "Take our delight in the Lord" in Psalm 37:4 and he prayed, "Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days" in Psalm 90:14… and then David promised that complete and lasting happiness is found in God alone, "You reveal the path of life to me, in Your presence is abundant joy, in Your right hand are pleasuresforever more” In Psalm 16:11.
Fear is defeated and faith is alive…What has overwhelmed you, has been overwhelmed! The Lord declares, Oh grave where is your victory, for dead dreams and hopes, now live again… As we return to our first love He restores the dream and infuses us with hope. The one who has held your heart captive shall no longer bring you into bondage, for He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Your best days are still ahead and your greatest accomplishments are in front of you….
