Look Different

Introduction

Long ago, God chose you to be Holy and Different.  Christians are meant to Think Different, Act Different, and today I want to share that we should Look Different.  Of all the sermons in this series, I was concerned about this one the most.  Why did God want me to talk about how Christians should look?  I was concerned so I spent a lot of time praying and meditating on this subject.  And I thought about the different ways different Christians have looked and dressed over the years.  And to make things easy, I’ve compiled a few slides showing how Christians can look different. Maybe you would like to choose one of these looks?

You could choose the monastic look of the monk or the nun.






You could choose the 16-17 century clerical stylings of Jonathan Edwards or John Wesley.

Or maybe you would like the more contemporary look of the Christian t-shirt or contemporary music star Colton Dixon's frohawk.

Or you could opt for a more glamorous televangelist hairdo.







Or if that's not hardcore enough, you could go with the crazy street preacher look.

Or if you're really into hats in church...

 

 

 

With "No Shave November" fast approaching, there's even a handy guide for Christian beard styles:

Maybe, if we really want to know how Christians look different, we should just go to the Word of God for advice.

 

Matthew 5:14-16

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Jesus’ Fashion Advice

            Jesus didn’t give much fashion advice.  he did talk about the Pharisees fashion statements once.  The Pharisees liked to dress in elaborate robes ordained with boxes called phylacteries that held tiny scrolls of scripture.  They liked to be noticed and to look "holy," but Jesus warned they were like white washed tombs, beautiful on the outside but, on the inside, full of dead men's bones.
            In the sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus said you shouldn't worry about what you will wear; He said the lilies of the field are better clothed than anything King Solomon ever wore (and Solomon was the richest man who ever lived).
           In Matthew 5:14, Jesus gives a few images of how we are to “look.” It has more to do with our character, but it can affect the way we look too.  The images he uses are:  light, a city, and a shining lamp. 

Christians Shine

            Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit and have an inner light that shines.  There something special about them that transcends clothes, age, or even the world’s standards of beauty.  Our inner lights leads us and even gives light to others, but in order for the light to shine, you have to open yourself up to the Holy Spirit.  You have to listen for what the Spirit is trying to say and then obey--even if it's uncomfortable or challenging.  When you cooperate with the Spirit, you become more like Christ.
            You will find you also give light to others.  Christians are called to be a witness.  When someone joins as a member of my church, they promise to support the church with their prayers, the presence, their gifts, their service, and their witness.  Obviously, being a witness means telling people what Jesus has done for you.  But even if you don't say anything, people see the way you live.  If you are a Christian, someone is watching to see what you will do whether you know it or not.  And if you let the Holy Spirit lead you, it will lead others as well.
            There's something else about that shining inner light.  Jesus said it can't be hidden.  He said we shouldn't try to hide it anymore than we should try to high the light of a lamp.  I'm so thankful I live in America--a land where we have the freedom to live as a Christian without concerns about our safety.  That was not the case for the earliest followers of Christ and it is not the case for many Christians who live in places like North Korea, China, and Africa today.  Many Christians have to worship in secret and try to keep their faith hidden.  Can you imagine the burden of that?  How do you keep your faith in Christ secret when it causes you to shine like a lamp or a city on a hill?  I'm so glad Christians in America don't have to hide our light.  And I think we ought to try and shine as brightly as we can in honor and memory of those who didn't have this privilege.  How dare we disrespect those who suffer for Christ by taking our shining privileges for granted?

 

Christians Gather Together

            I have discovered I am truly country person at heart.  I always thought I was and never would have called myself a big city kind of person.  However, before I moved to Cohutta, Georgia, I always lived in a city or a town.  Every place I've lived my whole life was populated enough that you could walk to a store within 5 or 10 minutes.  Now we live in the country and it takes a minimum of 15-20 minutes to drive to the nearest store.  It would take an hour to walk.  I guess that's the definition of country to me and I like it.  I like the way it's quite and peaceful out in the country; there's fewer people.
            But Jesus said Christians are like a city on a hill.  A city is a large human settlement.  By definition, cities are a gathering together of lots and lots of people.  And that tells you something about how Christians look.  Christians gather together in groups.  You can't have a city with just one person and there are no solitary Christians.  Christians must come together. 
            Think of the two most important ceremonies in the Christian Church.  The two sacraments that Jesus commanded his followers to practice are Baptism and Holy Communion and you can't do either of them by yourself.  You must gather together with other believers to experience them.  Christians look different because we are always gathering together with other Christians to worship, to study, to serve, to grow, to hold on another accountable, and to just share life. 

Christians Have Scars

            I have this old truck I've been tinkering with--a 1978 Ford F350.  I love the truck I call "Dry Bones."  It used to be a dump truck.  They say farm truck live a hard life, but the life of a dump truck is just brutal!  You can see the scars from that tough life in the rust that covers her.  But it's the rusty old worn out look that I like most about Dry Bones.  It reminds me so much of the Christian life.
            You see, Jesus comes to us when we are broken and beat down by the consequences of our sin.  He loves us, despite our ugliness, and he redeems us and gives us a new life.  That's what I think about when I see my Dry Bones truck.  It was just a worn our dump truck discarded and forgotten, but I'm bringing it back to life and making it cool.  People stop me all the time and tell me, "Man, I really love that truck."  And they love it, not because it's shiny and new.  They love it because of the old rusted, worn out look.
            Dry Bones is a good picture for how Christians look different.  Christians have scars.  Even Jesus had scars.  In fact, the risen Christ often showed his people his scars to prove it was really him.  "Look," he would say, "Here are the scars where the nails pierced my hands.  Here is where the spear pierced my side."  Jesus scars are not an ugly thing anymore.  Now, they are a badge of honor that shows what he did for us--how much he loves us.
            Christians have scares too--scars left by sins others did to us and sins we inflicted on ourselves.  But a scar is not a live wound.  It is a wound that has been healed.  And if Jesus is healing you (that who Christians are--those who Christ has healed and/or is healing), you will have the scars to prove it.  And your scars aren't an ugly thing; they are a badge of honor that glorifies God and shows what Christ has done for you.  Don't be afraid to show your scars--to say, "Here.  Here is where Christ healed me form my sin."  Our scars tell our story.
            But some might say, " I don’t have any scars.  I’ve always been in the church"  Well, your scars might be smaller, but they're still there.  One of the godliest people I know is Sara Brooker.  She is known thoughout our church and even the community as a true saint.  Sara's been in church pretty much her whole life and will tell you she can't really remember a time when she wasn't a Christian.  But she will also be the first to tell you, she has struggled with sin and wishes she were more Christ-like.  And I'm always thinking, I can't think of a more Christ-like person on earth, but she sees she falls short.  If Sara has scars, then we all do.  Don't be afraid to show your scars so others can see how Jesus has healed you. 

 "Yeah, But How Do Christians Dress"

            If you were reading this blog to find out how Christians should dress, I will leave you with to scriptures to help you out. 
Luke 12:35 – Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast.
1 Peter 5:5 – And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
            So, be dressed for service and dress yourself in humility.  There.  That's your Christians fashion advice. 

Conclusion

            Remember, God chose you long ago to be different, to be holy.  God chose you to think different, act different, and look different.  You should like a city on a hill shining for all the world to see so that the world may glorify God who chose you and made you holy different.  Are you ready to look different?

Help Our Community

Matthew 5:14-16

Introductions

Pleasant Grove is on a mission from God to tell people about Jesus and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do it.  That means whatever we do, we are telling people about Jesus. If we are teaching kids at school, we are telling them about Jesus; if we are making carpet in a carpet mill, we are telling people about Jesus; if we are are visiting someone who is sick and in the hospital, we are telling them about Jesus; whatever we do, we are telling people about Jesus and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do it. And our long range goals are 1) give hope to the hopeless, 2) build new relationships, and 3) help our community.  

Last week, we discussed how God wants us to follow Christ’s example and build new relationships.  Today we consider goal #3 – help our community.  Listen to what Jesus said about the effect true believers have on their world.  

Matthew 5:14-16

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Shining A Light vs. Bragging

Jesus said, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”  People take notice when Christians are sincerely kind and helpful. They shine like a city on a hill.

But some people will say, “Wait a minute!  I thought we weren’t supposed to brag about our good deeds?”  Matthew 6:1 does say, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” Remember though, Jesus sais that to Pharisees because they only did good deeds because they liked to make themselves look good.

There is a subtle difference between shining your light and bragging.  It is your motivation.  Bragging tries to make you look good.  Shining your light points people to God and glorifies Him.  So we must Help Our Community for the right reasons.  Not to glorify ourselves or our church, but to bring glory to God and for the love of His people.

Jesus Helped Communities

Jesus traveled all over the land of Israel.  Everywhere he went, Jesus helped the communities he visited.  It was a natural outgrowth of who he was and the Kingdom he represented.  Jesus is the Son of God and He represents the Kingdom of God.  There is no sickness or death or suffering or poverty in the Kingdom of God.  All these evils flee when the Kingdom of God comes near.  So it makes sense that whenever Jesus was present: demons were cast out, the blind regained sight, the lame could walk, and the hungry were fed.

Of course, the miracles were a blessing in and of themselves.  But imagine how the blessings spread out and had a rippling effect like a stone thrown into a pond.  Just take for instance the effect of a healing.  Imagine how that blessed the families of those who were healed.  Now there was an extra wage earner in the family at a time when every bit of income mattered.  The family no longer had to care for the sick person; the sick person could contribute.  And that person who’d been healed would have such a fresh perspective on life.  They would be a more enthusiastic member of society, a better citizen, and one that gave glory to God in everything they did.  Imagine the economic impact of just one healing on a community.  Now there is one more person who can work, defend the city, buy and sell goods, take care of his family, raise children, and help others.  And of course, everyone who knew of the healing would find new hope and a better attitude.  So you see, whole communities where blessed when Jesus came to town.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement led a great revival of Christianity in England in the 1700s.  Wesley preached all over England and people turned to Jesus in droves.  People did away with drunkenness and vulgar language, became better citizens, harder workers, kinder, and more charitable.  Most scholars believe such social reforms as child labor laws, the abolition of slavery in England, the value of education, and prison reform where a direct result of so many people actively following Jesus during John Wesley’s time.  A whole nation was changed because Christians got serious about their faith and did what Jesus called them to do.

Helping Our Community

Proverbs 11:11 says, “Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.”  If we live an active, healthy, Christian life, we will be a blessing to our Community.  It will be a better place to live because Pleasant Grove UMC is in it.  We can help our community believe in itself.  We can help our area be cleaner, safer, and healthier. We should be good to our community because Jesus has been good to us.

What can you do to help our community?

One thing you can do to help your community is support local businesses.  These are the people who live here in our community—your friends and neighbors.  Their success contributes to the success of our whole community.  Our church makes a conscious effort to buy local whenever we can.  For example, you know the fabulous Pleasant Grove t-shirts we have offered.  We were buying them online from a company in Fairfax, Virginia.  Then Donna found a local business who could make the same shirts—The Trophy Hut.  It was a no-brainer for us.  We want to help our community.  We want to support the local economy.  So we bought our shirts locally.  And we try to buy locally whenever we can.  I hope you will too.

Another thing you can do to help our community—pray for it.  Prayer changes things.  It changes people, situations, and it even changes us.  If you want to fall more in love with your community, pray for it.  Do you want have a more positive view of your community?  Pray for it.  Do you want to see better schools and neighborhoods?  Pray for them.  Prayer will change things and it will change you.

When you walk or drive around town, pray for the houses and businesses you pass.    Pray for the churches in our community – not just PGUMC, all churches. (Remember, any church that is telling people about Jesus is part of our team.)  Pray for our community leaders and politicians—especially as they face a tough election this month.  Pray with people. You know just about anyone--Christian or not--will tell you they will pray for you if you ask. It's just a nice thing to say, but not necessarily something everyone follows through on. If you want to really help someone and leave a deep impression of them for Jesus, pray with them--right then when they ask. It doesn't even have to be a fancy prayer--just a sentence or too in normal, everyday language. People might forget if the preacher prays with them, but they won't forget if you do. SO when someone says, "Hey, I'm gonna be late because my son is sick. Please pray for me." Say, "Alright, do you mind if I do that for you right now over the phone." They will never forget that you prayed with them.

Help your community by participating in local community events.  Can I suggest one that happens this month?  Come out for the Family Promise Duck Race in downtown Dalton on May 21st.  It’s a fundraiser for Family Promise to help fight homelessness.  But it’s more than that.  It’s a community event designed to bring people and churches together.  So come out and help your community at the Dalton Depot on Saturday, May 21st starting at 3:00.

Last, but certainly not least, if you want to help you community, live your Christian faith with integrity.  Jesus said we “are the salt of the earth.”  Salt gives flavor.  It preserves food so it doesn’t spoil.  In the same way, Christians who truly live the way Jesus calls us to live add flavor and life to our community.  Our holy living counteracts the wicked deeds of others that threaten to spoil our neighborhoods.  If every Christian truly followed Jesus and forsook the evil ways of our world, our community would experience a tremendous revival and would be beacon of light—a true city on a hill shining for all the world to see.

Invitation

Jesus said, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”  The most luminous example is Christ, himself.  His final act of selfless love was to lay down his own life for the sake of others.  He laid his life down for you.  It was not just that he died (though that was the ultimate expression of his love).  Think of all Christ laid down for you.

Success.  A man of Jesus' ability could have gone far in this world.  Think of the money, power, influence, he could have achieved.  Yet he gave all that up and chose the life of a wandering preacher, trying to help people.  He didn’t even have a home.

Marriage.  Jesus gave up the joy of having a wife.  We had a wedding for Kathy and Stephen Yarbrough yesterday and we have another one this Saturday for Amanda and Ken.  Weddings are a time of joy and we just assume that most people will experience the joy of marriage at some point in their life.  Jesus sacrificed that dream for you.

Children.  What about children?  My son will graduate high school this month.  What a joy it has been to see Gavin grow from an infant to a young man.  Jesus never got to do that.  He chose instead to sacrifice his life for our sins—for my sins, for your sins.

Mother.  Since it is Mother’s Day, how appropriate to consider the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made in terms of his mother, Mary.  As Jesus was dying on the cross, he looked at his mother.  He must have considered the awful sacrifice they were both making.  They would not be able to spend the next 20 or 30 or 40 years together as mother and son.  Mary would not get to watch her son grow older and pass through the normal stages of life as every man should.  Jesus would not be able to help care for his aging mother.  He would not be able to sit at her bedside as she took her final breath.  Instead, the cross reversed those rolls in a way they should never be reversed for a family—the child died before the parent.  And so as Jesus was dying on the cross, he handed over his responsibility to the disciple, John.  Speaking of John, Jesus said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son.”  And to John he said, “Here is your mother.”

I cannot fathom the heartache and suffering of the crucifixion.  It was horrible for anyone, but especially because Jesus didn’t deserve it at all.  He was completely innocent, the most beautiful person who ever lived.  All he did was bring truth and justice and love into our world.  And they crucified him.  

Yet because of the cross, our sins have been forgiven.  We can find a new life.  We can leave behind our old way of living.  And I pray that we will.  I pray you will not just casually say, “Yes I believe and want to be a Christian.”  No.  I want you to give yourself to Jesus as whole heartedly and sacrificially as he gave himself to you.  As Jesus said, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must lay down his life, take up his cross and follow me.”

That’s what our community needs.  That’s what will truly help.  Not a bunch of casual church people who aren’t much different from anyone else practicing southern hospitality in our Bible-belt neighborhoods.  That kind of religion won’t change much.  But if we will become followers who truly put our allegiance to Jesus and his way of life above everything else, well…  That would truly help our community.  That might actually change the world.