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June 24, 2021 6:00 am
Have you ever been the recipient of prejudice I mean someone three judges you because of your race or sex or how you're dressed for, where you're coming from, or even your religion. What's it feel like when people judge you, they don't even know they put you in a box.
Worse yet, what happened that today welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with your finger tips are Bible daily discipleship program motivating Christians to live like Christians were nearing the series diabolical signals agenda for planet Earth before we hear his message. Let me encourage you to use chips message brief outline and all the supporting Scripture to download these message notes just go to LivingontheEdge.org under the broadcast Listeners Fill in those that your strip with his message from acts chapter 10 of all diabolical things we discussed that are subtle.
This may be the most diabolical way that Satan brings death and destruction to be I want to walk through a very clear explanation of what prejudice is, how it develops and here's here's the thing you can kind of relax.
This message is not about are you prejudiced or not.
Please no no no no no this message is only about how prejudice you are. Everybody is prejudice. Okay, now let me show you why. First, we are all born into a cultural bias. You grew up in a family in a culture in a language with a religious orientation you learn during that time.
There's a bias you look at life through a lens that came from parents and grandparents and where you came from and the part of the country or the part of the world. Second, apart from interaction outside our group we grow up assuming our view accurately defines reality. Your little kitty don't you don't know any better and they say this is what's true about black people. This is what true about those white people. This is what's true about people from the South unit of people from California but there like what here's how rich people are we as homeless people what the real problem is they need to all those things are implanted in your mind and you assume unless you get outside your world, your group in your box but your view really is alignment with reality third generations of socialization and indoctrination create barriers at best and hatred at worst with those that are different from ourselves. See, we always out of our insecurities when anyone is different from us. It creates a barrier. I'll tell you why just a second there is barriers between tall people and short people. There's very freeing people from red states and blue states there's very clean people that believe that and don't believe that there's all kind of barriers you name the difference. There's barriers between you shop at Walmart or Norstrom's there's barriers between geography, religion, politics, gender, color of skin, race, religious orientation, the moment there something different at best. It creates a barrier at worst, it breeds hatred. There's people that grow up in their taught from an early age. Those people and you can fill in who they are, they should be dead. One of our missionaries worked in Beirut. He said it's so hard for the Syrians that were working for. They don't want to help Palestinians and they don't want to help people from Libya and they don't help some people from other places because they don't want to become Christians. Their taught from little kids to hate other people and that's true it's true all across the world, different tribes, different orientations, people from different religions notice for internal in accurate assessment so nice way of saying pride internal in accurate assessment. This is who you really think you are an X terminal in accurate assessment prejudiced results in the fulfillment of Satan's agenda to kill to steal and destroy. Now, lest you just think of pride is people that are arrogant and have a just a higher view of themselves. I put the definition. Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity importance, merit or superiority in the here's the part of wanted you to see whether as cherished in the mine were displayed in behavior.
I think for most Christians it's often cherished in your mind you have attitudes you have labels. Those people are like that then you generalize to all those people notice prejudice.
This external and accurate view is a preconceived judgment or opinion. It's having an adverse opinion without learning realm just grounds or sufficient knowledge. It's an ear rational attitude of hostility directed toward an individual or group or race, or their supposed characteristics and you think maybe I'm over doing this.
Just think, think of words like Rwanda, Bosnia, Sudan, Northern Ireland, South Africa race in America. Millions of people. Millions of people have died because deeply rooted in the psyche of little boys and girls growing up was.
Those people deserve to die there from that tribe therefrom that ethnic background historically therefrom that religion. We need to kill him. This religion we need to kill them. Satan's had a heyday with prejudice, and it's rooted in were okay and were better and were superior, and those that are different. We dehumanize them.
So then we do terrible things we can justify this is all nice and theoretical out there, but it's not so nice and theoretical to get so close on this 28-year-old non-prejudiced person and I find myself in my first pastorate in a little rural town in Texas where people use the N word and argue about the KJV versus the NIV translation in the same sentence. It was a world that I'd never seen John Deere hats skull under the lip gun in the back of the pickup and the public swimming pool purchased by a couple business people and filling it in a 1968, less black and white children swim together and for year and 1/2.
I just thought how narrow and bigoted and redneck. They were and how prejudiced I became toward them for their prejudiced and how superior I was to them and remember God whispering about a year and 1/2 into my journey is the young suburban pastor you know Chip I love these people.
I sent you here to love them, but you're not doing very well. All you do is judge and every time you see a gun in the back of a pickup or a John Deere had her you you generalize and you label and you think they're all the same and you don't see in the way I see and I went on a journey to learn how to love people that were very different than me and I realize I was deeply prejudiced and so in God's great ironic humor. He says well, step one is there numb to take you to Santa Cruz. And so you know highest per capita of lesbians and and you know the government thinks the Berkeley's too far right and people are tattooed and pierced in places that it's unimaginable that you could actually tattoo and pierced yourself in this place, isn't there sort of the Santa Cruz mindset and for at least a year and 1/2 or two. I member sitting in in different places, watching people just think in this knots and there's an arrogance about it and were alternative. This new age that an and I dislike God had to whisper the lame chip. I love these people you don't even like him let alone 11 and I went on a journey went on a journey where I asked God I begin to see I need to see people the way God sees people and you know what I learned after couple years there I learned there's not a Nichols worth the difference between a guy in a John Deere hat who uses the N-word and argues about this type of the Bible into lesbians in the corner being very affectionate in terms of my attitude towards both. They may have some behavior that God absolutely says is not correct and will be painful and hurt them, but he loves both of them and both of them have learned some of that behavior from the prejudice in the backgrounds and the only way they'll be liberated and love is if someone doesn't judge them but loves them and gets into their life and I realized I wasn't doing that I was an eight or nine and prejudiced not a two or three, and there is only one thing on the face of the earth that has the power to break prejudice that you have in your heart and I have in mind. The reason we don't feel like were very prejudice is because we stay in our little group. Most of the time and most of in our Christian view. We cherish in her mind and we look at people and we judge them in our mind because we judge the matter my look at the bottom of the notes. Here's what happens.
The problem is prejudice creates walls between individuals and groups so the gospel can't move from one person to another or from one group to another. That's the problem when I see people that way. There's a barrier I may not hate them, but I so disapproving right so I'm irritated or feel so superior that the gospel can't get beyond Jews and Gentiles. At this point in historic cultural history hate one another.
This is like the head of the NAACP and the KKK becoming friends. That's what it's like there's only one power is only one thing that can break those kind of things down and here's the story it's in acts chapter 10 in the story is the gospel smashes hundreds of years of prejudice and hatred and notice it through an enlisted soldier and a fisherman, if not through powers. It's not through legislation.
It's not through some elite group.
There's an in listed soldier in the Roman army whose open pressing the Jews and there is a Jew who was a blue-collar worker who's been following our tenor at preacher named Jesus and a transformation occurs or things that have been in that in his soul and mind and thinking since he was a little boy and his father and his grandfather's grandfather before him, the spirit of God in the gospel liberates in ways that change the course of history I've divided it into a number of vignettes.
How did it happen. Let's look first at Cornelius's vision at Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius and he was a centurion menses over hundred soldiers in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and his family were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to those in need, and he prayed to God regularly. One day about three in the afternoon. He had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God who came to him and said, Cornelius. Cornelius stared at him in fear and said what is it, Lord.
The angel answered your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a remembrance before me know. Send to Joplin to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter he staying with Simon the tanner whose houses by the sea when angel spoke to him and gone. Cornelius called to the servants and one of the soldiers was a devout man and he told them everything that it happened and he sent them to job. He's a Gentile. We learn from Chapter 11.
He's not circumcised in the in the polytheism of the day. That was just it just got so messy and so crazy. A number of people honestly seeking after God would actually begin. They would be necessarily even proselytes but they were called God fears and they knew there was one true God, and they were reaching out and they would begin to often worship in our courts of the temple. Vignette number two. Peter's been staying with this tanner and he's hungry and why he's hungry and they're fixing want something happens, pick it up in verse nine about noon the following day as they were approaching the city. Peter went up on the roof to pray he became hungry and wanted something to eat while the meal was being prepared. He fell into a trance.
He saw heaven opened, and something large like a sheet being let down to the earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals as well as reptiles of the earth, and birds of the air and then the voice said him get up, Peter kill any Peter's response surely not Lord Peter replied, I've never eaten anything impure or unclean, in that she was a number of things that they were forbidden to eat you might jot your notes. Leviticus chapter 11 is very clear detail about these kind animals. You can eat these kind you can't, and I mean it's in the law he's heard it from little boy and now is having a vision that is breaking with what is learned all of his life. The voice spoke in a second time. Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times and immediately that she was taken back to heaven while Peter was still wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius and found out where Simon's house was and they stopped at the gate they call out if this Simon is also known as Peter was staying there while Peter was still thinking about the vision, the spirit gets this inner nudge said to him, Simon.
These three men are looking for you so get up and go downstairs, do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them so Peter went downstairs and he said I'm the one you're looking for, why have you come means that we come from Cornelius the centurion is a righteous and God-fearing man who is respected by all the Jewish people, holy angel told him to have you come to his house so he could hear what you have to say that Peter invited the men to the house to be his guest Mark that if you will. This is a good you inviting Gentiles into the home, offering hospitality and he actually because of this it with them. Vignette number three Peter goes on a little journey to Cornelius's house the next day Peter started out with them along with some brothers so he's got. We learn little bit later. Five or six other Jewish people going to be giving a testimonial, but later in the go along with him to Joppa the following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them to call together as relatives and close friends as Peter entered the house. Cornelius met him and fell at his feet and reference, but Peter made him get upset, stand up, I'm only a man myself in talking with him. Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people and he said to them that now think about this ever since he's a little boy.
He is said their dirty their bad there evil. In fact, the term for a Gentile among the Jews, their dogs, so his first words are you are well aware that it's against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile and to visit him but but God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. Soon I was sent for.
I came without raising any objection in this is so great. May I ask why you spent for me.
There is not an agenda he's not like hey I'm to be the big evangelist. He's like I've never done this before in my life, I'm probably scared to death. I'm thinking, what are all my friends cannot think of anybody could see me here.
Would someone tell me while I'm here. Cornelius answered four days ago I was in my house crying at this hour. Three in the afternoon and suddenly a man was shining close stood before me and said, Cornelius got a searcher prayers. Remember he gives to the poor sent to Joppa for Simon is called Peter he's a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea, so I sent for you immediately, and was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us so this is just a seeker. He just wants to know more about God and what the Scripture says when people any time they take on the steps toward God. God's can reveal himself and so Peterson the common now Peterson realized next vignette I'm supposed to share the gospel with these people in Peter's mind this truth, this gospel this Messiah is for our little group is for the Jews. He's our Messiah, God is going to do an amazing thing. Then Peter began to speak is going to give. We basically get the footnotes on me just just the high points of the sermon. I now realize how true it is that God doesn't show favoritism, but he accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right and that word accepts doesn't mean they become Christians. It means literally. The Hebrew word as he lifts his face in favor in every nation. When God sees people that are open. He says he lifts his face and he favors them. He goes on to say this is the message God sent to the people of Israel telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord or sovereign over all. You know what is happened throughout Judea beginning in Galilee. After his baptism. That John had preached how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power and how he went about doing good and healing all those were under the power of the devil because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem and they killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him up from the dead on the third day and caused them to be seen. He wasn't seen by all the people but by witnesses whom God had already chosen by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead, he commanded us men to preach to all the people and to testify that he's the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead and all the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Now this is an interesting time.
So basically he said you don't let me just tell you the story of Jesus.
He was promised, and he was the Messiah and he came and John preached and as he went preaching and that he healed people got authenticated and he is Lord he is the sovereign. He's the one true God, and as he did. He demonstrated that by power over the works of the devil, and he healed people in many came back from the dead, and it's not an image or a dream or another religion we ate with him and we walk with him and I but the sermon was a little bit longer and he spoke very specifically because here's what you gotta get God made him the judge over the living and the dead. So this one true God who came and gave his life to give forgiveness to whosoever would believe those who respond there's life but is also the judge and those who reject his death, but there's forgiveness for everyone who believes.
Now this is one of those times were God doesn't allow the pastor or the preacher to figure out what he's gonna say he just acts. He literally interrupts the sermon vignette number six. While Peter was still speaking these words, he's got no control. He can't take credit and by the way, later he's going to say hey what may guys get a lot of trouble from his friends. What were you doing hanging out with those Gentiles healing relaxing when the house if you say you know I just didn't know you know a good bit of the and while I was in a band that happened noticed what it was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all those who heard the message the circumcised believers of the Jews who had come with Peter were astonished literately. The word means they were struck and all their jaw drop their eyes got wide. This can't be, but it is because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given to them even and as to the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. And then Peter said, can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water, they receive the Holy Spirit. Just the way we have.
In other words, acts chapter 2 I gave a message. God did this Jews happened later on chapter 8 when the Samaritans came to Christ they believe and then I came and John came and we prayed for the same thing happen and now I get to finish my message and boom.
God has now included the Gentiles into his church. So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus asked Peter to stay with them for a few days and then just edging into Chapter 11. The word got out the apostles and the brothers throughout all the Judea heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God's overthinking their excited.
This is awesome. They've come to Christ the Savior of the world.
All those Old Testament passages. The blessings of Abraham to all nations of the great right wrong.
So when Peter went to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers. The Jewish believers criticized him and said you went into the house of an uncircumcised man and you ate with them and Peter explained everything precisely what happened. God broke through prejudice.
Prejudice keeps the love of God from moving from you to another person, that's different in you because you have in grain thinking about them and you perceive them and think of them in ways that make a wall between you and them when whole groups have prejudiced against other whole groups, the truth, and the love of God and the gospel doesn't make it from one group to another. I hope you get what happened here.
Someone was willing to take all the abuse and rejection and get out of their comfort zone and say I'm going to begin to look at people to the lens of God in truth, even if I get rejected by my friends in order to love people the way God loves and what I want to suggest is very clearly in each of these vignettes is a very specific application about how God wants to remove the walls that we've built and again this is enough to make you feel guilty. This is subtle. This is diabolical.
This is Satan's agenda. I doubt I'm sure there's a few, but I doubt there's a number of people that you know what I said on a scale of 1 to 10 how prejudice are you I'm not. I doubt there's a whole lot of people about nine I like Vienna nine I'm just not thinking there's a lot of nines in the room, at least by self perception.
But what if you think your 405 what if there's people that God is working in where you work in your neighborhood where you work out and that you have just unconscious prejudice. So you never cross the barrier of people that are different and therefore the gospel doesn't is application just you've been listening to his series diabolical.
Satan's agenda for planet Earth, including you, Satan's mission for every Christ follower is simple, total destruction.
Unlike God's plans for you which are rooted in grace and love. Satan wants to wreck your relationships isolate you from God and turn you into an ineffective Christian but with God's help, we not only have the power to oppose Satan's tactics, we can actually defeat them through the series triple teachers to recognize Satan's diabolical schemes and defend ourselves against his evil intentions. This is such an important topic so we hope you'll make the time to be with us for this entire series for complete series information and resources discounts for diabolical just go to LivingontheEdge.org or call triple late. 333-6003 Apple listeners Special offers. Chip is July 4 is coming up soon.
A lot of people probably don't know about your passion to help people in the military. I mean, the fact of the matter is they've not only kept us safe, but they have some very real unique needs.
Once Living on the Edge doing to help them Dave you really hit on something I am passionate my dad was a World War II veteran.
My wife's dad was a World War II veteran and so we had these opportunities a number of times each year to get with military couples. And I mean can you imagine getting married and then your wife gets transferred to Korea and you get transferred to Afghanistan and you're married and that your married life. Believe me, that happens in the military or what it's like when your husband goes off and is deployed for nine months. Or, you know, 18 months and then comes back and the baby that was born. You know dad meet somebody's 18 months and walking that they have issues and challenges, like few, and so we minister directly to the military we give them free resources I we also ministered to a group that has been injured. It's called operation. Healer patriots. We partner with the Billy Graham Association was Samaritans purse and it's just one of those little slivers of life that God is put on my heart and Teresa's in the ministries and what ever we can do every time we go we just give them whatever resource would help them and we can do that because people were so generous to Living on the Edge so fellow patriots and those that care about the military if you'd like to help us help them. Now's a great time because as you've heard Dave say over and over this month. Every gift you give this month gets doubled and thank you and on behalf of her military. Thank you.
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333-6003, or if you prefer, donate online at http://livingontheedge.org Apple listeners just Donate on behalf of Chip and the team. Thank you in advance for your generosity chip as you talk today. I can't think of a message that's more timely. I mean, this issue of prejudice. There are so many applications it's interesting that the Bible speak so directly to this day.
That really is and it it reminds me that this is not a simply a racial issue or a class issue or a gender issued the root of prejudice is in the human heart is not something out there. It's something in here.
We just tend to see people who are different and we tend to internally be insecure and fearful and then we either make them the enemy or we never cross lines we never figure out how to get to know them in a way we can love them and and respect them in way that God would want us to. And I want to give you what I believe is something tucked in the Scriptures that the early church used to break down prejudice and it's super practical because I don't know about you but we can just post forever and ever and we can hear dialogues and debates and at some point in time. I want to say.
Could everyone stop talking about racism or prejudice or this and that, let's do something about it.
And if you would study the book of Luke, and especially what we have in this chapter and acts. It's interesting to me where the prejudice gets broken down.
Here's the two words, hospitality proximity, let me say that again if we want to break prejudice down of all kinds, hospitality and proximity. When you eat with people. It changes your relationship. If you would trace through the book of Luke.
If you would study the whole book of Luke and look at Jesus life. He is almost leaving where he was eating was someone going to eat with someone words a story while he's eating with someone.
I mean, what he does weathers tax collectors centers Pharisees his disciples the very last night. He eats hospitality if we would invite people to our home if we would meet people that are different than us in a restaurant if we would simply sit down and have a meal you can't break through prejudice and less you rub up next to them can encourage you to pause, think of a person or group than in your private.you realize you're uncomfortable with. I'm not saying your prejudice but you are uncomfortable with.
Could you take the initiative this week and get near them somehow proximity I mean face-to-face, eyeball to eyeball and if there's any way could you break bread together that will do more to eliminate prejudice than all the posts and all the talk in the world as we wrap up today's program. I want to say thank you to those who make this program possible through your generous giving. If you've been blessed by chips, teaching, and you'd like to bless others in the same way.
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333-6003, on behalf of everyone here. Thanks in advance for your generosity will that's it for this program. Until next time, this is Dave Drury saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge