Pastor Mark Mikels
\nAugust 20, 2006<\/p>\n
“MY
\nWITNESS IN THE WORLD – Part Two”<\/p>\n
“Eliminate The Negative!”<\/p>\n
Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #4<\/p>\n
Intro … This morning we continue the focus that we began last Sunday
\n– the focus on our witness in the world as we live out our lives as
\nfollowers of Jesus Christ and members of Sonlife Community Church. Last
\nweek in a message that we could have sub-titled “Demonstrate the
\nPositive” we placed our attention upon the statement in our Sonlife
\nCovenant of Behavior which says …
\n<\/p>\n
“I will endeavor to give positive witness of my relationship to Jesus
\nChrist by word and deed in every circumstance in which I am placed.”<\/p>\n
In other words, in every situation of life in which I find myself, I
\nwill seek to demonstrate the fact that my relationship with Jesus
\nChrist produces a positive and productive effect upon my life! We saw
\nlast week (notably in 1 Peter 2:15) that the “demonstration of that
\npositive effect” frequently creates an opportunity for witness as
\nunbelievers around us “ask us a reason for the hope that we have”.
\nDemonstrating the positive through our words and deeds as we bear
\nwitness to our relationship with Jesus Christ prepares the way for
\neffective witness. Surely, Christ would have all of His Own
\ndemonstrate the positive in their daily lives!<\/p>\n
Now having discussed that at some length last week and having said that
\nlast week’s message in a way establishes the context for this week’s
\nmessage, I want you to consider with me today’s Key Concept:<\/p>\n
Key Concept … In the living of the Christian Life, eliminating
\nthe NEGATIVE is as important as demonstrating the POSITIVE.<\/p>\n
Here’s how our Sonlife Covenant expresses it …<\/p>\n
“I will refrain from any activity or practice of life that might
\ndiscredit the name of Jesus, harm the temple of the Holy Spirit (my
\nbody), hinder a fellow believer, or cause my personal testimony to be
\ncompromised.” (Romans 2:24; 1 Corinthians 6:19-10; 8:9; 1 Timothy
\n4:12b,15-16; Proverbs 23:29-35)<\/p>\n
Consider the Key Action Phrase in that statement… “I will refrain ” –
\nI will stay away from – I will avoid at all costs – I will have nothing
\nto do with … What? What are the things from which I will refrain?<\/p>\n
That Covenant statement identifies … FOUR THINGS THAT I AS A
\nCHRISTIAN WILL NOT DO …<\/p>\n
1. I WILL NOT DISCREDIT THE NAME OF JESUS – that is, “Make Him LOOK
\nbad.”<\/p>\n
As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because
\nof you.” – Romans 2:24<\/p>\n
Could there be anything worse than that? To have the One we claim to
\nlove and follow actually discredited in the eyes of others because of
\nthe way that we live our lives? That condition was originally
\nattributed to Israel in Old Testament Days by the prophets Isaiah and
\nEzekiel … (Isaiah 52:5; Ezekiel 36:22)<\/p>\n
Because of their disobedience God had allowed His People to be overrun
\nby their enemies; they were taken into captivity and in their captivity
\nthey had become an object of scorn and their God had become a symbol of
\nimpotence. How feeble must their God be that He could not protect them
\nfrom the invader! So God’s Name linked to His People had become a joke
\nand their faith a farce – their disobedience had caused Him to withdraw
\nhis hand of blessing and thus He Himself had suffered humiliation right
\nalong with His People!<\/p>\n
Here’s the point for us today … Jesus’ name is attached in people’s
\nminds to every one of us who calls himself “Christian”. The way we live
\nreflects either positively or negatively upon him. Like it or not, it’s
\npossible for us to “make Him look bad” – to make him less desirable
\nthan He might otherwise be!<\/p>\n
Illustration: Have you seen the signs posted on the back of many trucks
\non the road asking -“How am I driving?” with a company phone number to
\ncall? Imagine what it would be like if all Christians were to have a
\nsign on their backs saying “How am I living\/behaving?” with their
\npastor’s number to call! What kind of calls would your Pastor be
\nreceiving?<\/p>\n
It is reported that the famous Indian philosopher and social reformer
\nMahatma Gandhi once said … “Give me your Christ but not your
\nChristianity”. He, at least, could see past the performance of those
\nwho called themselves Christian and realize there was more than what
\nthey were demonstrating but most people can’t. Most people figure that
\na Christ who can’t change us into something worthwhile is not worth
\ninvestigating let alone following.<\/p>\n
And so we go on record as a congregation as saying … “I will refrain
\nfrom any activity or practice of life that might discredit the name of
\nJesus … I will not Make Him Look Bad!” Ask yourself in every
\nsituation … Will this behavior of mine make people think better or
\nworse of Jesus?<\/p>\n
2. I WILL NOT HARM THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – that is, “Make His
\nHOME Bad.”<\/p>\n
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside
\nhis body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you
\nnot know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,
\nwhom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought
\nat a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 6:19-20<\/p>\n
Now there’s a thousand ways that that Scripture can be applied … I
\nhave personally used that scripture to pressure myself into “buckling
\nup when I get in my car”. It can be applied to our eating habits and to
\nour entertainment practices (sky diving or bungee jumping or motorcycle
\nriding or rock climbing) but I want us first of all to apply it today
\nin the primary way that Paul himself did … sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n
We are living in a day when the Church of Jesus Christ and when vast
\nnumbers of followers of Jesus Christ take a very lax position with
\nregard to sexual behavior. The Bible has never changed its position and
\nwe cannot either … sexual activity outside of the secure bonds of
\nmarriage is a violation of God’s prescribed plan – it is sin. And like
\nany sin, it negatively affects our fellowship with God. However, unlike
\nmany other sins, sexual sin directly affects the dwelling place of the
\nSpirit of God. Sexual sin, Paul says, is a sin against our own body and
\nas such adversely affects the Spirit of God Himself.<\/p>\n
Now, of course, the first focus here is sexual intercourse but all
\nsexual activity between two unmarried people designed to bring some
\ndegree of sexual satisfaction is included. Sexual sin corrupts the home
\nin which the Holy Spirit dwells – it makes His Home a bad place to be –
\na less than honorable place to be – and yet He is required to be there.
\nHow unpleasant that must be for him! Like some family in New Orleans
\ntrying to get comfortable once again in an home that is still filled
\nwith the muck of hurricane Katrina so is the Holy Spirit in the body of
\na believer that has been corrupted by sexual sin.<\/p>\n
With a degree of conviction borne of deep appreciation for the work of
\nthe Spirit in our lives we say … “I will refrain from any activity or
\npractice of life that might harm the temple of the Holy Spirit (my
\nbody) – I will not “Make His home bad – that is, a bad place for Him to
\nbe!”<\/p>\n
Well, we are halfway done … two down and two to go … two more
\nincredibly important things that our Sonlife Covenant says that I as a
\nChristian simply will not do …<\/p>\n
3. I WILL NOT HINDER A FELLOW BELIEVER – that is, “Make Him DO Bad”<\/p>\n
“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become
\na stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience
\nsees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he
\nbe emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak
\nbrother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you
\nsin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience,
\nyou sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to
\nfall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause
\nhim to fall.” – 1 Corinthians 8:9<\/p>\n
In this passage, the Apostle Paul touches on an incredibly important
\nguideline for our Christian Living … As a Christian, I need to be
\naware of the way my behavior affects other Christians. There may well
\nbe things that I can do with a perfectly clear conscience that others
\ncannot. My behavior in those circumstances might offend or confuse<\/p>\n
or possibly even mislead them.<\/p>\n
In Paul’s day the issue was “eating meat that had been offered to
\nidols” that is, meat that had been presented to an idol as part of a
\npagan religious ceremony and that had then been made available to the
\npublic. Now Paul had previously pointed out to them (verse 4) “that an
\nidol is nothing at all in this world and that there is no God but one”.
\nTherefore, to eat meat that had been offered to idols – even in the
\nidol temple itself … think of a first century version of a “hotdog on
\na stick” vendor hawking his wares … was no big deal.<\/p>\n
That is, it was no big deal … UNLESS some younger, more vulnerable
\nbeliever made it a big deal! In that case, Paul says that he would
\n“refrain” … he would modify his behavior for the sake of the younger
\nbeliever.<\/p>\n
And our Sonlife Covenant says that each of us would do the same …<\/p>\n
“I will refrain from any activity or practice of life that might hinder
\na fellow believer … I will not make him do bad!”<\/p>\n
We should ask ourselves when about to engage in any controversial
\nbehavior … “Might this behavior cause distress and possibly even
\nbring defeat for any of my Christian brothers or sisters?” Certainly
\nwhen the answer is a definite “YES” we should refrain – for their sake
\nand Paul would say, “for Christ’s sake as well”.<\/p>\n
And now just one remains of our “Elimination Quartet” …<\/p>\n
4. I WILL NOT COMPROMISE MY PERSONAL TESTIMONY that is, “Make ME Do
\nBad”<\/p>\n
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an
\nexample for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in
\npurity. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so
\nthat everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine
\nclosely.” – 1 Timothy 4:12, 15-16<\/p>\n
There is nothing more cherished for a true follower of Jesus Christ
\nthan a “squeaky clean” personal testimony. There is nothing more
\nhonoring to Christ than to have the world say of us as Pilate did of
\nJesus, “I find no fault in him”. It doesn’t mean that the world “agrees
\nwith us” but it does mean that the world finds us to be people of
\npersonal integrity, living lives that are consistent and commendable.<\/p>\n
Recognize the powerful platform for witness that such a life provides,
\nour Sonlife Covenant affirms …<\/p>\n
“I will refrain from any activity or practice of life that might cause
\nmy personal testimony to be compromised … I will not make me do bad.”<\/p>\n
And with that we conclude our look at these “Four Things that I as a
\nChristian will simply not do” …<\/p>\n
I WILL NOT DISCREDIT THE NAME OF JESUS! I WILL NOT HARM THE TEMPLE OF
\nTHE HOLY SPIRIT!<\/p>\n
I WILL NOT HINDER A FELLOW BELIEVER! I WILL NOT COMPROMISE MY PERSONAL
\nTESTIMONY!<\/p>\n
All that remains is to draw your attention to this Final Thot … A
\nfinal thot that reiterates the point with which we began this
\ndiscussion.<\/p>\n
Final Thot … Our WITNESS in the world depends as much upon what we
\nDON’T do as it does upon what we DO!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pastor Mark Mikels August 20, 2006 “MY WITNESS IN THE WORLD – Part Two” “Eliminate The Negative!” Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #4 Intro … This morning we continue the focus that we began last Sunday – the focus on our witness in the world as we live out our lives as followers of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"template":"","meta":[],"categories":[9,3],"archive_item":"http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com--church-under-construction---behavioral-phase-part-3b","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons\/180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sp_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}