Sermon Tone Analysis

You can’t serve 2 masters

and yet that is exactly the world that we live in as world that says I don’t care if you worship God, we aren’t interested in who you say your masters is you must not show were your true allegiances lie.

and as we’ve been learning our mandate is to be IN the world.

to be participants in it.... we were not called to run or shy away from the world, but instead to be agents of action and change within it.

We were called to go OUT into THIS VERY worlds and preach the gospel!

and I’m sure that Jesus couldn’t have possibly known what the world was going to be like… he couldn’t possible have known that we would be living in a world that has pushed him completely out.

A world that doesn’t allow him at work

or at schools

or in government (you all voting last week right?)

He couldn’t have meant that we were supposed to do this in a world where if you mention his name in public you are generally shunned.

or called names, like intolerant, or bigot, or many other worse.

I mean he couldn’t have meant that we need to go out into THIS world… right?

But it’s not like the world has no room for any religion...

It’s a big house with no room for us.

If you’re sheikh or Hindu… that seems to be ok… we’ve got room for that, in the name of inclusiveness.

If you’re Agnostic or Atheist… well now a days the more Atheist the better really...

If you’re a spiritualist, or Buddhist, or Bahia or one of the exotic eastern sounding ones… those are cool.

And of course if you subscribe to any of the many “alternative lifestyles....” of your LGBT or Polyamourous or any number of things.. there's plenty of room for you.

And if this is sounding a little depressing it should.... because there seems to be room in the world these days for everyone BUT Christians.

the world is a big house and it seems that we’re the only ones left out!

We were (and are) a bad guest

If we take the analogy of the big house a step further....

We used to be in the house.

in fact we used to be its main guest....

But this thing is we were and in many case still are a bad guest.... we kinda took over the house.

we told the occupants that if they didn’t believe like us that THEY should get out.

We abused them

The ridiculed them

we call them all sorts of names

and we authorized anyone in the house that didn't immediately agree with us

We told them that they were going to go to hell and that we would one day own the house!

we went into all the rooms and told them how wrong they were for doing the things they did.

we went into their kitchen and tried to tell the how to eat.

Instead of coming into the house and guiding them gently.

We pushed open the door and chided them them for how they were living!

and so they kicked us out!.... and it’s no wonder.

and i’m not really speaking metaphorically...

This society that we live in is our home.. and by and large we have been awful guests in it.

We have chided for their sins while forgetting that we are sinners ourselves.

We have pushed out beliefs on all regardless of if they were ready or willing

We have poured absolute HATE on people.

called them all sorts of awful names.

rejected and despised them because of their lifestyles

We have condemned whole people groups

and said it was in the name of Jesus… and then we sat back and wondered Why?

Why do they not want us? why don’t they respond to this loving God that we know?

why do they push us away?

It’s because we haven't learned to live in this world....

But there’s good news

The Good news is that it’s never to late to turn the titanic around!

we can learn to live in this world in this culture and do it in such a way that we neither compromise our Christian Values Nor become the kind of people that other people dont like.

And we’ve got a great example in the bible!

Any guesses who?

Wrong! it is Daniel!

Daniel 1:1-21

We Live in Daniels World

The world that Daniel lived in had plenty of room for a lot of things… it had room for a myriad of gods, and deities.

It had room for a ton of differing world views.

but the one this it didn’t have room for was the true God.

So here we Have Daniel a devote man of Judah and he’s thrust into this world where he was meant to eat things God had forbidden, and do things God had forbidden them to do.

He was suddenly surrounded by those who practiced witchcraft and sorcery, and all manner of other things contrary to the commands of God.

and not only where these thing common place but they were also absolutely accepted and acceptable!

So whats a good Israelite to do?

I know what the pharisees would have done:

The would have rebuked the king and and the people/ They would have told the kind and people how sinful they we’re.

they probably would have created an underground network and worked to bring down the king.

They would have resisted, and they likely would have ended up dead.... but at the very least they would have ended up ineffective witnesses of the God they served.

But look at what Daniel did.

no fighting, no rebuking no resistance… but also no compromise.

Look at Verse 8 Daniel 1:8

no big fan fair.

no proclamation from the castle wall.

no stiring speech.

and no condemnation of what the others were doing… this was simply I WILL NOT COMPROMISE MYSELF!

you also see in this that Daniel was compassionate to the plight of others.

Look at the chief of the eunuchs it was his job to make sure that these people were taken care of and it could literally mean his life if one of the people under his care showed up looking unfit, or pale, or not as “good looking” as originally… remember Nebuchadnezzar chose people based on their looks… so this was a big deal.

But notice that Daniel showed love, kindness and understanding to this man.

instead of demanding that his diet be change.... or going on a hunger strike or refusing to cooperate with him until his demands where met. he responded with a resonable propsal found in Daniel 1:11-13

see reasonable, and faced with a reasonable request the chief of the eunichs responded in kind with reason and allowed the testing.

See look at this...

God was able to work through this situation and show HIMSELF grand because Daniel wasn’t doing or trying to do Gods Job.

Is judgement our job?

no!

is chastising our job?

no!

WE have ONE.

SIMPLE.

JOB.

Love your neighbor… that’s what Daniel did and God was able to show himself through that situation.

Could you imagine a World....

could you imagine a world where Christians and Atheist get a long… and can have rational conversations?

there would probably be fewer Atheist.

could you imagine a world where Christians could sit down and with kindness and caring show understanding to those int he LGBT community?

there would probably be fewer LGBT

Could you imagine a world where Christians all over the globe powerfully and simply followed the 2 greatest commandments?

Love your God

and Love your neighbors as yourself

There would probably be more Christians!

In my job as a photographer I have to deal with all sorts of people… and legally I don’t get the option to say no I won’t do a photo shoot with you for any reason (other than if they cannot pay).

and one day I was asked to do a photo shoot for a person who I found out was trans gendered....