Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Advancing Self-Interest”.
As nationwide and global protest continue in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police officers, I was led to a passage in the book of Amos that addressed social injustice and inequality. After their split from the house of David, the 10 tribes who departed set up their own nation in the North.
Not long thereafter, they descended into idolatry and selfishness. It became every person for themselves as they sought to prosper by any means necessary. They became corrupt and perverted justice. They exploited and oppressed the poor only to advance their own self-interest. They maintained a semblance of worship, but is was pretentious and lacked genuineness.
God decried their worship and warned them to repent of their doings by allowing justice to come down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream. This was a frequently quoted passage of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in some of the messages and speeches he gave in his struggle to secure human and civil rights for not only American citizens, but people everywhere.
Fifty-two years after his death, people are still in the streets of America and around the world calling for justice. Justice is holding people accountable for the injuries they cause to others and society. Far too long many in the mostly white evangelical church have remained silent and enabled injustice by empowering those who stand in the way and block the efforts of those who are and have been oppressed.
As long as their own interest are protected and advanced, they close their eyes and stop their ears to the sights and sounds of injustice and unrighteousness all around us. God told Israel to remove their phony worship from His presence. God, through this pandemic, is saying the same thing to the church today. It has removed our corporate worship from His presence.
Just like He told Israel, He is telling the church today to stop advancing your self-interest and begin to hold people accountable for their injurious deeds and seek fairness and equity for all. And not only that, many of our lives mirror the sinful, selfish lives of those we are called to witness to and serve. We have no drawing power to righteous and holy living because others can’t see it in us.
All to often we only see in the church how it is going to benefit me or us. By seeking to advance God’s interest, we will advance our own self-interest just as Jesus did. For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus advanced the interest of the Father. In doing so, He advanced His own self-interest.
The same is true for us. For the joy that is set before us, let us seek justice, righteousness, holiness and mercy. Let us become the people who serve, not the people seeking to be served. By doing so, we will advance the Father’s interest along with our own.
Finally, Israel’s failure to heed God’s warning through His prophet Amos resulted in their destruction. America has a long history and legacy of racism, terrorism and oppression of minority groups. If we love this nation as we say we do, then let us embrace this opportunity to silence those once and for all who continue to silence and malign those who call for justice and righteousness.
Those whose rhetoric and behavior only inflame and stir up deep rooted seeds of division, hatred and differences. Those who use distractions and perversions to keep us from addressing the issues that prevent us from becoming the caring, compassionate, just, merciful and righteous people God has called His people to be.
Some congregations are starting to reassemble as many of the health and safety restrictions are lifted. As we prepare to return to worship and gather again, let us do so with a renewed determination to correct what we have been doing wrong. Given what we know about God and where we are now in human history, it will be both dangerous and unwise for us to continue our worship with business as usual. This kind of worship God hates and will remove from His sight.
Remember to visit our website to see our latest news, announcements and worship activities and opportunities. Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices. Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday. Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link. As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments
Pastor Jordan
Very good pastor