Rev. David Holwick J
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 17, 2013
Luke 7:29-35
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I. It takes all types.
A. There are many varieties of Christians.
1) We usually think of all the different denominations, but
we are different in temperaments as well.
a) Some Christians are positive and bubbly.
b) Others have a harsher edge to them and can come across
as strident and severe.
c) Still others are just lumps on a log.
2) Our temperaments spill over into our worship.
With the election of the new pope, NPR interviewed a Latin
American Catholic who had become an Evangelical.
He said he liked the way Evangelicals worshipped and got
everyone involved in raising their hands and singing
loudly.
Catholicism was just too mild for him.
(I am sure there are Christians in our area who think the
same thing of us.)
It can get rather heated.
Back in 2005, a pastor in Florida went up to his pulpit to
begin his sermon.
Some of the church members didn't want to hear a sermon --
they wanted to keep singing, so they did so.
The pastor called the police and had all 16 singers
arrested.
(It wasn't really about conflicting worship styles.
They wanted the pastor to quit.
Previously he had twisted the ear of one of them [literally]
and they thought it was time for some new leadership.)
#63973
B. We all tend to think our style is God's style.
1) I am the non-emotional, moralistic type of preacher.
2) There are many other types in our area.
3) Is style what you should really be focusing on?
C. Jesus or John?
1) This was the choice offered to first-century Palestine.
a) Two dynamic religious personalities had emerged, John
the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth.
b) They were related by birth but had strikingly different
styles.
2) The way people responded made the difference.
II. John's style.
A. John was extremely austere. Matthew 3:1-12
1) He wore scratchy clothes. Matt 3:4
a) Camel's hair would be like burlap.
b) The prophet Elijah dressed like this, too.
2) He ate primitive food.
a) I guess honey is alright, but he can keep the locusts.
b) I am sure he didn't dip them in chocolate, either.
B. His message was even harsher than his lifestyle.
1) John was the original hellfire-and-brimstone preacher.
a) He preached about unquenchable fire and people being
cut down.
b) He preached with urgency, telling the people the ax
was already at the root of the trees.
2) When religious leaders come to him, he calls them snakes.
a) Apparently they were concerned in case John was correct
and the end of the age was near.
b) We would say they were looking for fire insurance -- to
be saved from the fires of hell.
c) Getting wet in baptism won't save them, only repenting
will get them right with God.
1> He anticipates they will fall back on their status
as Jews, God's chosen people.
2> John tells them God can make Jews out of rocks
if he wants. They aren't that special.
C. If Jesus had a nickname for John, it would be "Undertaker."
1) John's grim message will like a dirge, the songs you
sing at a funeral. Luke 7:29
2) But it wasn't working -- the opponents weren't crying.
3) As a matter of fact, they said he had a demon.
a) Probably not literally -- they thought he went overboard.
b) To show you how intense John way, he called the king
an adulterer to his face. Matt 14:3-4
1> It ended up costing John his head.
III. Jesus' style.
A. Jesus had a completely different approach.
1) His messages tended to be more positive.
a) He talks about love and forgiveness and God's incredible
grace for us.
2) He preaches plenty on sin, too, but it is not nearly as
narrowly focused as John's preaching.
B. Where Jesus really shined was the way he lived.
1) When an adultress is hauled before him, he forgives her.
a) I don't know what John would have done in that situation.
b) It is not far-fetched to see him say, "She sinned.
Do it!"
2) John ate locusts, while Jesus had wine and bread and lots
of good stuff.
a) He was a banquet-kind of guy.
b) Often he was surrounded by prostitutes and other dregs
of society.
c) If John is into funerals, Jesus was into parties.
1> As Jesus' ditty puts it, if John is into funeral
dirges, Jesus is into dancing.
3) It got him in trouble all the time.
Many of you are familiar with Tony Campolo, a Christian speaker
and professor of sociology at Eastern College in Pennsylvania.
A few years ago he was in Honolulu for a Christian Conference.
On his first night there, he woke up around 3:00 a.m. because of
jet lag.
He couldn't sleep so he left the hotel to get something to eat.
Eventually he found a tiny coffee shop.
He walked in and sat down.
The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked him, "What do
you want?"
Tony told him he wanted a cup of coffee and a donut.
As he sat there munching on a donut and sipping his coffee at
3:30 in the morning, the door suddenly opened and in marched
8 or 9 provocative and rather boisterous prostitutes.
It was a small place and they sat on either side of Tony.
Their talk was loud and crude.
He felt completely out of place.
He was just about to make his getaway when he heard the woman
sitting next to him say, "You know, tomorrow is my birthday.
I'm going to be 39."
Her friend responded in a rather nasty tone, "So what do you want
from me? A birthday party?
Do you want me to get a cake, and sing happy birthday to you?"
"Come on," the women sitting next to Tony said, "why do you have
to be so mean?
Why do you have to put me down?
I was just telling you that it is my birthday.
I don't want anything from you.
I mean, why should I have a birthday party?
I've never had a birthday party in my whole life.
Why should I have one now?"
When Campolo heard that, he made a decision.
He found out the women came in there every night.
So he decided to put together a birthday party.
The fat cook smiled at that and said it was a great idea.
Tony would do the decorations, and the cook would do the cake.
2:30 the next morning, Tony was back at that diner.
He picked up some decorations at a store, and made a sign of big
pieces of cardboard that read, "Happy Birthday, Agnes!"
The word must have gotten out on the street because by 3:15 that
morning, every prostitute in Honolulu was in that place.
There was wall-to-wall prostitutes - and Tony Campolo.
At 3:30 on the dot the door of the diner swung open and in came
Agnes and her friend.
Everyone jumped up and screamed, "Happy birthday, Agnes!"
She was flabbergasted. Stunned. Shaken.
Agnes started to cry.
Not knowing what else to do, Tony broke the silence by saying,
"What do you say we pray together?"
It seems more than a little strange that an evangelist would be
leading a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes in a diner
in Honolulu at 3:30 in the morning.
But Tony prayed, for Agnes, for her salvation, that her life
would be changed and that God would be good to her.
And when Tony finished, the fat cook leaned over, and with a
trace of hostility in his voice he said, "Hey, you never told
me you were a preacher.
What kind of preacher are you anyway?
What church do you belong to?"
In one of those moments when just the right words came, Tony
answered him quietly,
"I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for
prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning."
Harry thought a moment, and then almost sneered as he answered,
"No you don't; there is no church like that.
In fact," he concluded, "if there was, I'd join it."
#7108
C. That's the kind of trouble Jesus got in.
1) Most Christians don't. The Pharisees and teachers of the
law certainly did not.
2) So Jesus had a reputation for eating and drinking too much.
a) He didn't. He didn't mess around with prostitutes,
either.
b) But he preached God's amazing grace, and they hated
him for it.
IV. In reality, John and Jesus preached from the same page.
A. Matthew gives the gist as "Repent, for God's kingdom is near."
1) John says this in Matthew 3:1.
2) Jesus preaches the exact same thing in Matthew 4:17!
B. Style is not the issue.
1) It is a pseudo-choice. Either style is fine with God.
2) What is not negotiable is the essence of salvation.
a) We have to recognize our spiritual need.
b) We have to turn back to God to fix it.
V. Most people rate style over substance.
A. They choose churches on whether they are exciting or not.
1) The color of the pew cushions can be a big deal.
2) But does anyone care about what is really being preached?
B. The best substance is found in transformed lives.
1) I was always mystified by Luke 7:35 - "Wisdom is proved
right by her children."
a) Is Jesus being sarcastic to his enemies?
b) More likely, he is saying that people who really belong
to God will recognize his truth when they hear it.
2) When you read the words of Jesus, what kind of impact does
it make on you?
C. You have to respond to something.
1) Perhaps you have been turned off by a Christian who was
harsh or moralistic.
2) Or, you may reject Christians who are happy but simplistic.
a) Everyone has their preferences.
b) But it is no excuse for missing out on God.
c) Are you going to be one of his real children, or not?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#7108 “Tony Campolo Hangs Out With Prostitutes,” Illustrationsbyemail,
May 23, 1999, Roddy Chestnut Collection; illustration originates
from Tony Campolo’s book, “The Kingdom of God Is a Party” (1992).
#63973 “Pastor Calls Police To Remove Protesting Singers,” Associated
Press, via Alabama.com; http://www.religionnewsblog.com/12430/~
pastor-calls-deputies-to-remove-protesting-singers, October 11,
2005.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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