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In The World Not Of It
Last Week I spent some time talking about the concept of being in the world and not of it.
and we all know that the Bible… even Jesus himself prayed that we should be “IN THE WORLD” but not “OF THE WORLD”
and we take our cues from Christs Prayer for his disciples in John 17 and because we’ve reduced this passage into one pithy phrase.
we’ve miss understood what Jesus is actually praying.
The whole passage goes something like this:
So what is Jesus really praying here… Is He praying that we wants us to cut ourselves off from the world that we are in?
creating a small cloister of Christians that technically live in the world, but are so separated from in that they cannot be tainted from it?
Was he praying that we would create our happy holy huddle, that keeps the world out?
Over the next few weeks we’re going to explore the concept of the Church and Culture.
were going to talk about what the Bible really is asking us and instructing us when it comes to the world and culture.
and I hope that by the end some of you will come out with a new understanding of culture as it relates to church.
So lets look at Jesus’ prayer and then let’s look at the church in relation to world culture.
“I have given them your world” - John 17:14a
Starting in Vs 14 he starts of by saying (and remember this is Jesus praying to God) That he has “given them (us) your world”
So thing number one we have to remember
This Globe
This continent
This country, Province, City
that we live in.
every blade of grass, every building
The governments and the people
Everything BELONGS TO GOD!
and this is an important thing to note because it puts us in a very specific position.
our job is not be be separated from HIS world, because that would be like saying that one should be separated from their own house.
this things that we live on.
that God created Way back in Genesis 1. Still belongs to him.
and Jesus says I have GIVEN them your world.
that is He has given US HIS world.
that puts us in the role of a custodian or caretaker… We are here to take care of HIS world not to hide from it… It is ours as our gift and inheritance, to care for and improve.
So we need to put this false concept of being separated from the world right out of our minds… it’s not what God wants… though it may be what someone else wants....
So in that Context how are we to understand when Jesus says.
that ...”the world has hated them because they were not of the world, just as I am not of the world” - John 17:14b
Obviously If we have been given something then is makes no sense that we should then be separated from that thing.
but in the same way my ownership or care for a thing does not make me the same as that thing.
In fact the fact that we are called to care for and own this thing places us above and not within…
People hated Jesus not because he separated himself from the world he lived in, because for sure that wasn’t the case… but instead he was so hated because he constantly placed himself ABOVE the concerns of the day.
Above the Culture, and above the world he was in.
He constantly pointed to a better way, and that is what people hated about his the most… because it wasn’t their way....
Bu then look at the people who hated Jesus the most… was it those who were IN the world… or was it those who already saw themselves as above it?
was he harassed more by the woman at the well or by the pharisees?
and i’m starting off at this point because I want to get you out of this mind set that as Christians we need to be hiding from the world.
or separated from it.
There is nowhere in the Bible that says we shouldn’t go to parties, or bars, or be out IN the world.
there is nothing that says we shouldn’t watch movies or listen to music…
in fact I’m certain that when Jesus was with Zachaeus the finest modern music of the day was probably being played.
and you notice there is no talk ANYWHERE in the Bible about how we shouldn’t not be within ear shot of certain music or eye range of certain movies (or theater back in the bible’s day)
instead Jesus says in Vs 15 that “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” -John 17:15
So here we are… stuck in the World because jesus prayed that God wouldn’t take us out of this sinful, dirty, fested world.
This world that simply is getting worse and worse everyday!
this world where more and more people are starving everyday!
This world where more people are deing from war than ever before
Where Crime is skyrocketing.....
Am I making a point here???
OK… well then let me make one now
Christians have become victims of culture rather than masters of it.
and thats a sad thing because we used to be masters of culture.
200 years ago.
the finest Hospitals were Christian Hospitals.
The finest Schools, where Christian schools
The Finest colleges and universities wer Christian ones
If you wanted to take in theatre or music it was likely to be Christian in nature and it was the BEST the world had to offer....
and I would argue that everytime Christians get our of their shells and take ahold of and embrace culture Christianity grows....
When we do the opposite and take the stance of being seperated from the world… Christianity shrinks.
I know that many don’t believe me… so let me start by going to the Bible for proof.
Let’s look at Paul for our example this time around.... and look at what he did in Acts 17:16-34
To The Unknown God
Poeple are looking for God.... and I’ve said this before.
We all have a empy place in our spirit that only God can fill… and people out there are looking for ways of filling it… they are literally looking for the Unknown God.
Culture (media, and the like) tell them that Alcohol will fill that void…
It tells them that various sexual orientations will fill that void.
It tells them that virtually anything that feels good can fill that void.
and so people make Alcohol their god, and it controls them and they feel good when they sacrifies to that god… and when they do not, their god punishes them
and so the make… sports their god.
and when their team is winning theyr god is smiling on them… when when their team doesnt....well...
or they make a god out of their sexual orientation.
it becomes their religion, and often because someone hurt them ones.
they look to gain love in all the wrong places.
and this is EXACTLY the same culture the Paul found himself in.
You want to talk abotu sports???? lets talk about grecco roman sports....
You want to talk about contending with other religions… lets talk about the stoic.
the Epicureans, the Jews and then there were the followers of a myriad of Greek and roman gods:
Zeus/Jupiter King of Gods
Hera/Juno Goddess of Marriage
Poseidon/Neptune God of the Sea
Cronos/Saturn Youngest son of Uranus, Father of Zeus
Aphrodite/Venus Goddess of Love
Hades/Pluto God of the Underworld
Hephaistos/Vulcan God of the Forge
Demeter/Ceres Goddess of the Harvest
Apollo God of Music and Medicine
Athena/Minerva Goddess of Wisdom
Artemis/Diana Goddess of the Hunt
Ares/Mars God of War
Hermes/Mercury Messenger of the Gods
Dionysus/Bacchus God of Wine
Persephone Goddess of Underworld
Eros/Cupid God of Love
Gaia/Goddess of Earth...
I could go on
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