Us Versus Them

1 John 2:18-19

          Insider trading has become such a common place thing that the stock market has invented a specific way to do it and get away with it. They call it a short sale. As I understand it, it goes like this. You buy the stock on borrowed money, and when the stock goes down in price, which you manipulate through bad news, then you sell the stock, paying back the loan at the lower price. You bet the stock goes down, and then you make the stock go down by planting a story, often done these days in a blog.

          This and many other tricks create a culture of insider and outsiders. The insiders have the ability to make lots of money, manipulating the stock prices in a way that benefits them. That is why there were over 200 more billionaires created last year in a world where almost every economy is struggling to stay afloat. The insiders suck the outsiders dry. They skim off the cream that would make the rest of us just a little bit more comfortable.

          Insider and outsider language is used in many places in our society. The military has its own language. Medical personnel use their own language to communicate. If you have ever taken out a loan you know that banks and lawyers have their own language. We even use insider and outsider language in the Church when we use our theological terms.

          John tells us that there were some people who were part of their group but then they left. He labels them as antichrists. Wow, that is just plain mean! But it is true. Anyone who doesn’t stand with them are now against them. For John, there was no middle ground for these people to occupy. They were once supporters of the Gospel and now they oppose it. They once claimed membership, but now they renounce any association with it.

          They joined a class of people John calls antichrists. And antichrists are in essence followers of the THE Antichrist. I don’t want you to miss this. John tells us that there is a person coming into the world who will fulfill the role of the opposition. He will be Satan’s representative here on earth. This is not just a group of people who oppose the Gospel, or some spiritual force that has come. There is a person, an actual person, who will be called by the hosts of heaven “The Antichrist” as a proper title. Just as demons are real, so the Antichrist is real.

          And John knows this because he understands the Scriptures. And the Scriptures tell us that in the last hour, the timeframe designated as the end of the world as we know it, that a particular person will come and oppose God’s rule here on earth. John knows that the timeframe he calls the last hour has started because the Holy Spirit has revealed it to him. He probably has been shown from the Scriptures that the fulfillment of the Scriptures in Jesus’ coming were the last gates to be opened before that time came.

          But you might say, “Didn’t he get it wrong, since it has been almost 2,000 years.” John in his writings, both the Gospel of John and these three small letters, uses this concept several times. He uses it to designate both a specific moment in time and a more general period of time just before the final moments. It is this more introductory time that John focuses on here.

          Think of it this way. When the TV coverage for the Super Bowl starts, it doesn’t start with the kickoff. It starts with the pregame show. But when you see the pregame show, you know that the kickoff is coming soon.

          So it was for John. He saw the events happening before him and he knew the pregame show had started. It is only a matter of time until the rest of the events of the Last Days start. And if it was so for John, how much more for us in our day! Stay alert! Be ready! Jesus is returning!

Shade on a Hot Day

Mark 4:32

      I have moved to God’s Waiting Room, Florida. The weather has been beautiful. Sunny, in the 70’s, slight breeze, perfect for sitting outside. I am told that this will not last into June, July and August. I believe what I am being told. But it is amazing how much cooler it is in the shade. If there is shade and a breeze, I think I can get used to it.

      In our day of mega-churches, size can be important. Many very large churches started with only a handful of members and grew explosively to large congregations. Unfortunately, much of the growth came from sheep stealing, the practice of the luring believers from other congregations to the fancy building and multiple programs, especially the gymnasium and kids’ programs. The growth was artificial with a few conversions.

      I love to watch swallows fly in a group. There will be hundreds of them swooping and swirling in a synchronized movement. They land in the tress and cover them, seemingly occupying every free space. Then for no apparent reason, they take off and swoop again. They appear as if they are one organism when they move. I came to appreciate their beauty when traveling in Italy. In the early evening they would be swooping across the dusky sky over the treetops and city roofs. It took my breath away in its beauty.

      Our lowly mustard seed has become a very large plant, a surprising thing for such a small seed. Looking at the seed you can never imagine that birds could rest in any branches that could grow from such a small seed. And yet they do.

      God takes something as small as words, simple words, and puts His power behind and in them and they change our lives in dramatic unexpected ways. He places His power in small words. The growth of this mustard seed is so explosive, so rapid, so unexpectedly out of proportion to the size of the seed that the growth has to be from God. This is like our spiritual life. When someone yields to the direction of the Holy Spirit, over time they grow to such a large extent that others can find rest in the shelter of the Gospel in them. It is the Gospel that provides the shade.

      The Gospel provides shade for anyone who will perch in its branches. It started in a seemingly insignificant manner, in a way very unexpected to the people of Jesus day. It happened contrary to their hopes and dreams. It grew rapidly, almost out of control. It provided a place for every language and nation and people and tribe to come and find rest. It had been primarily focused on the Jews, but that was not the intent. The Jews never became the beacon of hope that the LORD had intended. There was always space for Gentiles in the LORD’s plan, but access was often restricted by the Jews.

      Are we providing shelter for this range of people? Is your church active in opening its arms to those who are different than you? Is there an emphasis, and actions to follow, that demonstrate the far-reaching love of Jesus around the world today? Or do you tend to focus on those who happen to walk through the doors?

      The branches of the Gospel should be open to everyone.