"Hugging Jesus" - Matthew 10:32,33
Intro:
In 1990, centerfielder Brett Butler left the San Francisco Giants as a free agent. He was loved in San Francisco, and rightly so. He was a great player. But the best offer came from the L.A. Dodgers - their cross state rivals. Early in the season, when the two teams met, Butler was the center of attention. He was well loved by his former team, and they were playing at their ball park in San Francisco. When the line ups were being announced and the players introduced, the crowd roared as Butler, their former player was announced. The people still loved him, even in a Dodger uniform. Perhaps they felt he was still a Giant at heart.
Brett Butler did something interesting at that point. When he heard the response of the crowd, he walked up to his new manager, Tommy Lasorda, and hugged him, in front of the thousands of Giants fans that filled the stadium. Instantaneously, the cheers began to turn to boos and insults.
After the game, he was asked by the press why he did that. Brett Butler replied, "It turned a page in my career. I’m an L.A. Dodger now; I’m not a Giant. That just kind of solidified it." I wanted them to know I’m a Dodger."
Wow!
You know, when a person becomes a Christian, in one way or another, they need to "hug Jesus" in the sight of their family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances. They need to make it clear in their circle of influence who they belong to now. You see, just like the crowd thought that Brett Butler was still a Giant at heart, even though he had on a Dodger uniform, people often look at a Christian and think, "they’re still a good ole’ boy - still one of us." Nothing has really changed. It’s ok that they call themselves a Christian, it doesn’t really change anything."
The truth is, though, that if you are a Christian, things have changed, and radically. Your loyalties have changed, your allegiance has changed - your priorities have changed. Your love has changed. Life as you know it has changed! It is important to make that life change public. Because when the world thinks that "nothing has really changed," some bad things happen. When a disciple of Jesus tries to live as a closet Christian, something is very wrong.
Here is what Jesus said about this matter. In Matthew 10:32,33 - "If anyone acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before My Father in heaven. But if anyone denies Me here on earth, I will deny that person before My Father in heaven."
I. How We Sometimes Hide Our Faith
A. Compartmentalizing our faith.
- Mark 12:30 - "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength."
- We like to think we have God in our pocket.
- Wilbur Rees once wrote sarcastically, "I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please."
In other words, the idea of wholesale commitment to the cause of Christ needs to be kept in its proper bounds - right? We want the benefits of a relationship with God and the promise of heaven, but we would like to stay in control of things - not look too silly.
B. Diminishing our commitment.
Authentic Christians, Jesus says, are sold out - out of control - have gone public with it all. Jesus calls it in another place "buying the pearl of great price."
That story is found in Matthew 13:46. Juan Carlos Ortiz expounded on this parable one time. I like the way it unfolds.
"I want this pearl here. How much is it?"
" Well," the seller says, "it’s very expensive."
"But how much?"
"Well, a very large amount."
"Look, I like this pearl. It’s the finest I’ve seen. I want it. Do you think I could buy it?"
"Oh, of course, everyone can buy it."
"But, didn’t you say it was very expensive?"
"Yes."
"Well, how much is it?"
"Everything you have," says the seller.
He ponders for a moment and says, "All right, I’ll buy it."
"Well, what do you have - let’s write it down."
"Well, I have about ten thousand dollars in the bank."
"Good! Ten thousand dollars. What else?"
"That’s all. That’s all I have."
"Nothing more?"
"Well, I have a few dollars in my pocket."
"How much?"
He pulls out his wallet and the change in his pocket. "$43.25."
"That’s fine. What else do you have?"
"Nothing, that’s all."
"Where do you live? He’s still probing.
"In my house. Yes, I do have a house."
"The house too, then." He writes that down.
"You mean I have to live in my camper now?"
"Oh, you have a camper? That too. What else?"
"But, I’ll have to sleep in my car."
"You have a car?"
"Two of them."
"Both become mine then. What else?"
"Well, you already have my money, my house, my camper, my cars. What more do you want?"
"Are you alone in this world?"
"No, I have a wife and two children."
"Oh, yes, your wife and children. They become mine too. What else?"
"I have nothing left. I am left alone now."
Suddenly, the seller exclaims, "Oh, I almost forgot! You yourself too! Everything becomes mine, including you."
Then he goes on, "Now listen - I will allow you to use all these things for the time being. But don’t forget that they are mine, just as you are. And whenever I need any of them you must give them up, because now I am the owner."
- Too often, with our life in Jesus we think, "This is an important part of my life, but it’s not my life!" Check again.
- Matthew 16:24,25 - "Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition (deny yourself), shoulder your cross (die to yourself), and follow Me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life.’"
Work, play, home, public square, what part did Jesus tell you that you did not need him for - or better yet, that He did not want to own and control?
And so we hide our life in Christ, because we lack commitment, or we try to compartmentalize our faith as just one facet of who and what we are. Christian is part of who I am, but it’s not WHO I am - we think. Wrong.
We are to deny ourselves, but our tendency is to deny Christ - at least to deny Him parts of our lives.
II. Why We sometimes Hide Our Faith - Fear
This guy is waiting for a flight that is delayed. So he’s wandering around the airport and notices this ATM like machine. It’s a flight insurance machine. For a small price, it offers insurance against a canceled flight as well as a sizeable policy if the plane were to wreck and he were to die. He thinks about it. It seems like a good idea. Just in case, he thinks, it would be good to leave a nice insurance policy behind for the family. He buys the policy. The flight is still delayed, so he goes to get some Chinese food at one of the airport restaurants. It comes with a fortune cookie. He opens it, and it says, "Recent investment will pay high dividends."
For some Christians the thought of going public with their faith - of being sold out to God brings them the . . .
A. Fear of missing out on something.
Luke 14:16-24 - story of the great dinner (or the lame excuses) - excuses of needing to look at a new piece of land, trying out new oxen, needing to spend time with the wife.
- Some people lack commitment for fear that something else could come up they don’t want to miss - better to keep my options open.
B. Fear of rejection by others.
- If I go public with my faith, I might not fit in. I might not be rejected by some.
- If I go public with my faith, I will be admitting that I need a crutch - that I need God. I will look weak.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18 - "I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message a s the very power of God."
Ted Turner "a crutch for the weak", Karl Marx "opiate of the masses."
They are right - I am admitting I am weak when I come to Christ. I am broken. And my faith in Christ does bring me peace. I am a troubled soul without it.
Romans 1:16 - "For I am not ashamed of the Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes."
Fear of being found out for who I am is not a wise fear to live with.
- Matthew 10:28 - "Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
III. The Consequences Of Hiding Our Faith
A. Loss of effectiveness
- when we acknowledge Christ, we admit the need for a crutch - dependency.
- that publicly acknowledged is an invitation to other weary people to come.
- Conversation with Larry this week. Why don’t we see more broken people in our services? Why don’t we see those people here more broken? Like asking for prayer publicly - like confessing a weakness publicly? Why it’s not dignified. I would look stupid. I have to keep my composure?
- unfortunately, the less real we are, the less attractive a place this is to those who are broken and who lack peace - those who need what we communicate here. One thing I want - for each of our lives personally, and for this church collectively, to be attractive to the lost - the broken, the needy.
B. Shame
- Mark 8:38 - "If a person is ashamed of Me and My message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels."
Conclusion: Authentic fellowship is critical to fostering this kind of life. I we really go public with our faith, we’ll need the encouragement and relationships that we find here.
God, through Christ, is reconciling you (hugging you) to Him. Are you hugging back?
Easter is just around the corner. That day brings our focus to the source of our hope - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is also, by American tradition, one of the two days that Americans who do not share our hope will for some reason go to church. If you went a little more public with your life as a Christian in the next few weeks, how might you effect the decision of someone else to investigate the source of your hope?
