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One day in
the year 1968 Paul McCartney was on his way to visit 5-year-old Jules
Lennon. The little boy’s parents, John and Cynthia, were in the midst
of a divorce and the musician wanted to try to cheer him up. On the
way to the boy’s home, McCartney started to make up a song, “Hey
Jules, don’t make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better.”
Somewhere between Jules’ home and the recording studio the song title
was changed to “Hey Jude” and it became the longest running number one
hit of The Beatles, in spite of its length of seven minutes and eleven
seconds.
One
day in the year 68 a leader in the church sought to encourage a
particular congregation. His intent was to write to them about the
joy of the salvation that they shared, but he discovered a bit of
their sadness – division threatening their community of faith. He
wrote a letter that in spite of its brevity, only twenty-five verses,
became part of the best selling book of all time. We conclude our
summer sermon series on old friends you may have never met by
stopping to visit the other Jude, the one in the Bible. The Jude on
the radio and the Jude of the Bible do have at least one thing in
common, they both seek to be a problem solver - to take a sad song and
make it better. I don’t have the time to read the entire book aloud
this morning, but I would like to introduce you to this letter by
reading the first four verses. Hear now the word of the Lord:
1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, who are beloved in God the Father and kept
safe for Jesus Christ: 2May mercy, peace, and love be yours
in abundance. 3Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to
you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and
appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted
to the saints. 4For certain intruders have stolen in among
you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as
ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny
our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Word of God for
the people of God. Thanks be to God. In this letter Jude
warned his readers about their foes while reminding them to be
faithful. Let us pray.
Just how do
we as a church, take a sad song and make it better? I encourage you
to spend some time with the other Jude – the one in the Bible – and
discover five ways in which we can make it better. To help us
remember them, they all start with the letter ‘C’.
Claim Your Identity
Jude was
careful to reveal the identity of those who were the authors of the
sad song and those with the power to make it better. The intruders
into the church’s happiness were identified as godless individuals who
perverted the notion of grace and denied the Lordship of Christ. In
other words, they wanted to make up their own rules and the first rule
was there are no rules. You will discover throughout this book,
that these persons are those of us who give into our selfish desires.
The church, on the other hand, had a different identity. They,
according to verse one, were called by God, beloved in
God, and kept safe for Christ. In other words, they found
their identity in their relationship with a loving God.
Last weekend, a
number of leaders of this church attended the Willow Creek Leadership
Summit. Colin Powell was one of the speakers. He claimed that his
identity, given to him by his family, played a major role in his
success as a leader. He said his family gave him two gifts of
identity: expectations and a strong sense of shame. He said the
expectations came when he realized that his parents did not sacrifice
their time and energy to make sure that he was able to go to school,
for nothing. They expected him to make the most of every opportunity
they provided for him. He also said that a strong sense of shame was
a motivator. He never wanted to do anything that would negatively
reflect upon his family.
We are the
church, the family of God. We have an identity of being called,
loved, and kept safe by God. I think it would be powerful if we
claimed this identity and determined never to do anything that would
reflect negatively on our Lord and God. The first step in taking a
sad song and making it better is to claim our identity. This brings
us to the second step.
Consider Your Example
Jude was
amazed at the audacity of the invaders in the church. They told
people that since they were saved by grace, they could do anything
they wanted. They encouraged and modeled contentiousness, greed, and
arrogance. Jude lifted up two sets of examples to show that this kind
of attitude does not play well with God. The children of Israel were
saved by grace when they were liberated from Egypt through the Red
Sea, but when they became contentious they perished. The angels were
given lofty status in the universe, but when some became greedy and
wanted more, they were cast down for their greed. Sodom and Gomorrah
were given lots of opportunities, but when they became arrogant and
rebelled against God’s ethics, they were destroyed. The same thing
occurred with Cain’s contentiousness, Balaam’s greed, and Korah’s
arrogance. Instead of contentiousness, greed, and arrogance, Jude’s
readers were encouraged to consider the example of Michael the
archangel. Apparently, there was a dispute between Michael and the
devil over where Moses was to be buried. Michael was one of the most
powerful angels, but he did not rely on his own power to do battle
(contrary to what John Travolta may have you believe in his portrayal
of the battle-savvy celestial being). The angel called on God’s
strength. In verse nine he is quoted as having said simply, “The Lord
rebuke you.”
How often we
get into battles that we cannot win and even those that we need not
fight. Our example of how to oppose those who would write a sad song
in our life is to let God deal with them. We have other things that
demand our energy, which moves us to the third step to make it better.
Contend for the Right Things
Jude pulls
no punches in exposing the faults of those seeking to undermine the
church. In verses 12 and 13 he described them as blemishes on the
love feast. The word “blemishes” comes from an old Greek reference to
sunken rocks just below the surface of the water, that form little
dark shadowy spots. They shipwreck many vessels, as do the
contentious, greedy, and arrogant. Jude rattles off five more
metaphors in a rapid-fire succession: they are selfish shepherds,
waterless clouds (giving the promise of refreshment only to blow over
without any life), fruitless trees, wild waves (which deposit trash in
their wake), aimless stars that are like meteors that disappear in the
darkness of night. This is not the life for the church. Instead, the
church is to contend for the right by building up their faith, praying
in the Holy Spirit, keeping centered in God’s love, and waiting
expectantly for the mercy of Christ. Do you see the contrast in life
mission? One is all about me and the other is all about my
relationship with God.
John Ortberg
was at that same leadership conference as Colin Powell. He spoke
about the shadow mission that each of us carries with us. He
said, “The shadow mission is that place to where apart from the
help of God your depravity will drift.” He spoke about Queen
Esther, one of the old friends we visited this summer. She had two
missions from which to choose. She could have chosen her shadow
mission, which was to stay comfortable in the King’s palace and
remain “eye candy” a role to which role she had been reduced, or she
could embrace the mission for which God had placed her where she was
and save her people.
Then Ortberg
asked a question that I can’t let go of – “What is your shadow
mission? Where will your depravity cause you to drift without the help
of God?” He said it is often defined with the word “more”. I am
confident that if we contend for the right things – building up our
faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves centered in God’s
love, and waiting expectantly for the mercy of Christ – we will be
able to cling to our real mission as individuals and as a church. In
doing so, we will take a sad song and make it better. Contend for the
right things. The fourth step to making it better is to…
Care
for the Community
This was
really the line of demarcation between the foes and the faithful – the
way that others were treated. The foes were grumblers, faultfinders,
self-indulgent, braggarts (legends in their own minds), and flatterers
of others for personal gain. They used and abused people for their
own advancement. The faithful, on the other hand, were to have mercy
on those filled with doubt (loving them back into community), to act
urgently on behalf of those who were in great peril, and to proceed
cautiously when addressing sin so as not to get burned. They were to
take risks in rescuing others.
Last week,
Chelsea’s roommate returned to her apartment to find that the gas from
the oven had been left on all weekend. The fire seemed to be out, but
she was having a hard time getting the gas turned off. She called the
fired department out to assess the situation and let her know if it
was safe to stay in her apartment. Everything was fine. However, one
comical element to this story was as the firemen were in the
apartment, which had been unoccupied all weekend, they kept saying,
“Man, it is hot in here. Aren’t you hot? This is miserable!”
Chelsea was tickled as she related this story to me, “Dad, they’re
firemen for Pete’s sake! They put out fires and they think our
apartment is warm.” I assured her that when the time comes for them
to brave the flames, they will be up to it. It did, however, give me
a picture of the church, which is called to brave the fires of hell to
help other people. It is easy for us to slip into the role of
grumblers and faultfinders and complain of the heat, rather than
caring for community.
McCartney
wrote to that little boy, whose heart was broken, “For well you
know that it’s a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little
colder.” The thing that separates the foes and faithful is the
way we treat others. Are you willing to go into the fire and rescue
those who are struggling with doubt or are on the verge of yielding to
their shadow mission? If you are, you have the power to make
it better. This brings us to the last step in taking a sad song and
making it better.
Concentrate on God
Those who
were tearing up the church in Jude’s day were dividers, champions of
number one, and devoid of the Spirit. The faithful on the
other hand were to look up to God who prevents them from falling and
presents them in glory with rejoicing. This same God is the one who
forever is endued with glory, majesty, power, and authority. Listen
to how Jude closed his letter in verses 24-25: 24Now to
him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand
without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25to
the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory,
majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever.
Amen.
I would much
rather concentrate on that kind of God, rather than cling to my puny
resources. A couple of week’s ago, when we were in Las Vegas for our
vacation, Tammy and our friends went shopping, one of my least
favorite activities. So I went to Red Rock Canyon, just 15 minutes
outside of Las Vegas. It was a beautiful place for hiking. There is
a path that runs along the Calico Hills that is about one-mile on flat
ground. Since I was alone, I decided that was the path that I would
take. Before long I started looking at those red and white hills
seeking easy trails that might take me to the crest. Soon I was
scratching and clawing my way up on the sandstone. I realized as I
got near the top that this was utter foolishness. To hike alone in
the middle of summer, out in the desert, on hard rocks with one liter
of water and no one to help or go for help if I get injured was just
plain silly. I was kind of looking for Someone who could prevent
me from falling and make me to stand without blemish. As I
descended from those beautiful and treacherous rocks, I realized that
life is no more certain than the next step was on that little
adventure. One of the cardinal rules of hiking in the mountains,
according to www.abc-of-hiking.com is to avoid hiking alone. It is
also one of the rules of life. Concentrate on God and you will be
able to take a sad song and make it better.
Unfortunately, McCartney’s song did not do the trick for which it was
intended. Little Jules would only see his father ten times in the
next twelve years, before John Lennon’s tragic death in 1980. The
other Jude – the one in the Bible – may have the better advice:
●
Claim your identity
●
Consider your example
●
Contend for the right
●
Care for the community
●
Concentrate on God
Ray Charles
was once said to have told Glen Campbell that if he wanted to make it
big in the music business he would need to sing a lot of sad songs,
because there are a lot of sad people out there. I can think of no
clearer call for the church to be the church at its best than that
statement. We have been given the power to take a sad song and make
it better. Amen.
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