1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,600 All right, dreams for the new year. 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:05,760 What are you dreaming of for the new year? 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:07,040 What are you? What are you? 4 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:07,920 Well, that's right. Go ahead. 5 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:09,240 What are you dreaming of for the new year? 6 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,320 I'm. Dreaming that for the new year 7 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:18,160 that everybody's blessed and everybody never gets hurt and 8 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,680 nobody dies in. Crash OK, that's a good dream to 9 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,080 have for the new year. There's a lot of dreams we can 10 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:28,640 dream when we're looking ahead. One of the dreams that seems to 11 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,920 be a very significant dream for people. 12 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:36,760 You know, it's tempting to say younger people, but I think it's 13 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,800 really all people to some extent is a dream of being popular, of 14 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:45,120 being liked by folks around us, of being mired and respected. 15 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,560 And and there is a very real sense in which popularity 16 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,840 matters, but there's also a very real sense in which popularity 17 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:54,760 is a trap. And we're going to talk about 18 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,480 both of those things today, plus how we can avoid that trap. 19 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,160 The proverb says this fear, the fear of people becomes a snare. 20 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,680 But whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high. 21 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:12,920 And, and that that kind of sums up the message in one sentence 22 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:14,240 there. But we're going to take that 23 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:15,960 sentence apart as we walk through it. 24 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,480 What does this have to do with with Wicked? 25 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,240 Right. I told you this was originally 26 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:22,960 part of the series Wicked for Christmas. 27 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,520 Well, think about Glenda and Alphabet, and if you haven't 28 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,400 seen the movies yet, you'll have to just imagine Glenda. 29 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,360 And well, you'll have to imagine them regardless, but you have a 30 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,160 harder time imagining them if you haven't seen it. 31 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,120 Glenda and Elphaba were roommates, and Elphaba was not 32 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,440 popular at all. She was one of the least popular 33 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:42,600 people in all of the Kingdom of Oz. 34 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,600 Glinda was probably the most popular person in all of Oz, 35 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,240 with perhaps the exception of the Wonderful Wizard himself. 36 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,320 And Glenda and Elphaba at first loathe each other. 37 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,920 But as they began to be friends, Glenda as a good friend might 38 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,960 started asking yourself what can I do to help my new friend 39 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,960 Elphaba? And what Glenda decided Elphaba 40 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,560 needed most were lessons on how to be popular. 41 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,400 Glenda was popular. People loved her. 42 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,920 They admired her, they respected her, they followed her lead. 43 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,480 And, and, and you know, who wouldn't want that? 44 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,880 Who wouldn't need that? How, how, how couldn't it make 45 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,520 Elphaba's life better if she just became popular? 46 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:29,760 And so she, that was so important to her that Glenda 47 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:31,360 wrote a song. Actually, she didn't write the 48 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:32,560 song. Someone else wrote the song. 49 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:34,640 But Glenda sang the song Popular. 50 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,120 And that's what Paisley is going to come up and sing for us here 51 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:39,720 today. At this point in the sermon, 52 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,280 Paisley Partlow sang popular. She did a beautiful job with the 53 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,240 song and I wish I could include it here, but due to technical 54 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,720 limitations, I could not get a good recording of her singing. 55 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:53,240 You can, however, find Ariana Grande's version on YouTube and 56 00:02:53,240 --> 00:03:05,270 all major music platforms. Now back to the sermon, Great 57 00:03:05,270 --> 00:03:06,750 job, Paisley, can I give you a hug? 58 00:03:07,470 --> 00:03:09,950 You did a great job all three services today. 59 00:03:09,950 --> 00:03:12,870 Thank you so much. You have, you were just saying 60 00:03:12,870 --> 00:03:15,430 you were dreaming that everyone would be blessed this year and 61 00:03:15,430 --> 00:03:18,230 you have blessed folks in all three churches today. 62 00:03:18,230 --> 00:03:21,190 So thank you. Thank you very much, Glenda. 63 00:03:21,190 --> 00:03:25,800 Understood what? What kids in every school, 64 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:29,000 everywhere understand that popularity matters. 65 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,600 Adults often use the phrase it's not what you know, it's who you 66 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,720 know. And that's another way of 67 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,000 acknowledging that popularity matters. 68 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,320 What people think about us matters. 69 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:45,360 It it can affect things we get asked to do, invited to do in 70 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,000 school, leadership roles we get invited to take in school. 71 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,640 It can it can affect the quality of the references we get when 72 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,520 we're when we're applying to colleges or jobs. 73 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,280 It can affect the jobs we get, the promotions we get or don't 74 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,960 get. It can affect the influence and 75 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,760 does affect the influence we may have in the community around us, 76 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:11,080 popularity, what people think of us, whether people admire us and 77 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,440 respect us or think little of us and negatively toward us. 78 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,240 So, so the, the notion that we can just tell ourselves or tell 79 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,279 our kids, hey, don't worry about it. 80 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,440 It doesn't matter if you're not popular. 81 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,840 It does matter. It does matter, and it's not the 82 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:31,560 most important thing that matters, but it does matter, and 83 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:33,240 we can't pretend that it doesn't. 84 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,560 If we pretend that it doesn't, we're we're likely to fall into 85 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:42,240 the trap of popularity, if in fact that trap is there. 86 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,080 Whether we think popularity matters or it doesn't matter, 87 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,000 the trap of popularity, the thing that we really, really 88 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:57,520 need to avoid is if we make popularity the focus of our 89 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:59,320 lives. It's one thing to say popularity 90 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:01,840 matters. It's another thing to say, I 91 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:07,880 need to be popular in order to succeed, in order to be happy, 92 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,680 in order to have a good life, in order to get the things that I 93 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:16,920 want, I need to be popular. And once we reach there, we've 94 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:21,240 gone to a place where we're now trapped by popularity because as 95 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,760 soon as we need to be popular, at that point, we become slaves 96 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,440 to the opinions of the people that we want to like us. 97 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,400 Right now, there's a lot of different examples of that. 98 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,680 In this day and age, popularity is nothing new. 99 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:37,720 We're going to see that they were talking about this all the 100 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,160 way back in Old Testament days. So, so the popularity and the 101 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,240 popularity trap are nothing new, but it's, it's because we live 102 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,800 in a world of social media where things that happen in one part 103 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,640 of the world are instantly known all over the world. 104 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:55,160 The the issue of popularity is, is amplified, if nothing else. 105 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,200 And there are people out there today, they make their living. 106 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,120 Their entire livelihood is built simply on popularity. 107 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,920 And and that's not just movie stars and music stars and 108 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,800 celebrities and TV stars. It's, it's the social media 109 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,240 influencers that are out there. It's in the wannabe social media 110 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:19,160 influencers who who need more likes and more views and more 111 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,240 plays and more clicks in order to get more sponsors, in order 112 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,000 to get more ads, in order to get more revenue, in order to to 113 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,960 have more influence and more impact in the world around them. 114 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:35,360 And so their entire goal becomes how can I be popular? 115 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:40,000 How can I get people to like me and follow me and admire me? 116 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:47,920 And what do I have to avoid doing in order for so folks 117 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,280 don't hate me or reject me or cancel me? 118 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,760 Now that issue is there. Now, it's been around for a 119 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,560 while. The, the, the, the problem and 120 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:00,440 the trap here, I think is easy to see in the life of someone 121 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,960 that I suspect everyone here, Well, maybe not everyone. 122 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:06,360 I forget we have a lot of young folks in here. 123 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,200 Anyone here not know who Michael Jordan is? 124 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,120 Michael Jordan, not now. Michael Jordan, greatest 125 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:19,160 basketball player of all time. My humble opinion, no one cares 126 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,680 about my opinion on that matter. I still think Jordan's the 127 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,040 greatest basketball player of all time. 128 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,200 Jordan has been great at at least two things in his life, 129 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:28,720 playing basketball and selling tennis shoes. 130 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,040 And he has sold a lot of Air Jordans. 131 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,040 He's gotten very rich. He's helped, he helped make Nike 132 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:38,880 into a powerhouse shoe company worldwide by selling tennis 133 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,760 shoes. Way back in the day when Jordan 134 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:45,640 was still playing basketball professionally and and he was 135 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:51,720 one of the most popular people in the world, there happened to 136 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:53,480 be a presidential election going on. 137 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,320 And I think it was a presidential election. 138 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:58,480 It was a national election, I think presidential election. 139 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,440 And, and Jordan was getting a lot of pressure from people 140 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,800 around him to come out vocally for the Democrat candidate and 141 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,960 the Democrat platform. And I'm not getting partisan 142 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:11,560 today. I'm just talking history right 143 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:12,960 now. Come out vocally for the 144 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,880 Democrat platform in the Democrat Party, and he wouldn't 145 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,000 do it. And he got pressured. 146 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,400 And he got pressured from a lot of different angles in a lot of 147 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,520 different directions, personally and socially. 148 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,240 There was no social media at this time, so that wasn't a 149 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:28,680 thing. But he was asked one time, why 150 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,559 won't you do this? And Jordan had a very simple 151 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,600 reply that kind of pulls the cover off the popularity trap. 152 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:41,080 And his reply was, I'm not going to do this because Republicans 153 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:46,200 buy sneakers too, right? Popularity. 154 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:51,480 You take a stand on an important issue that's a divisive issue, 155 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:57,920 and you lose customers, you lose clicks, you lose popularity. 156 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,080 And that's what Jordan did, Jordan's decision, he made a 157 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:04,360 business decision. And you can argue that from a 158 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,120 business standpoint, that was the right decision to make. 159 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,360 If you look at it from a, a, a social influence perspective, 160 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:13,080 people will say that's the wrong decision to make. 161 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,520 You should make that decision even if it costs you popularity. 162 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,960 You should pick a side on important issues like that. 163 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,480 We're not Michael Jordan's judge. 164 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,240 I'm not Michael Jordan's judge. He can sort all of that out with 165 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:27,640 God later, whether that was a problem or not a problem. 166 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,160 But for our purposes, it illustrates the trap of 167 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,600 popularity. If we base our life on being 168 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:42,280 popular, then we are bound to we are bound to please the people 169 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,960 in our audience. That becomes the goal. 170 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,720 Their opinion guides all of our major decisions. 171 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:57,840 Even more so today, I think, because even private decisions 172 00:09:57,840 --> 00:09:59,560 today don't stay private very long. 173 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:03,800 In the world in which we live. The trap of popularity, we 174 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,360 become slaves to the folks that we need to please. 175 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:12,400 And they become our focus and they become our fear. 176 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,640 And they guide what we say and what we don't say and what we do 177 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,640 and what we don't do and, and, and how we act and how we don't 178 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,200 act. The trap of popularity. 179 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:24,360 So how do we avoid the popularity trap? 180 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,440 How do we stay free from being bound up in this quest? 181 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:33,400 Simply to seek likes from people and admiration from people. 182 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,480 One of the ways we do it is we do what Jesus did. 183 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:41,600 Followers of Jesus live for an audience of 1. 184 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:43,920 Jesus lived for an I jumped too far ahead. 185 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,320 I left a slide out. How did I do that? 186 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,120 It was in both of the others and I just copied and pasted. 187 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:51,800 That's very strange. Oh no, I didn't. 188 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:56,400 I just put him later. Followers of Jesus live for an 189 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,800 audience of one. That's what Jesus did. 190 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,640 And that audience is God. God sees everything clearly. 191 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:09,560 God calls out what's real and God holds us accountable in a 192 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:11,800 way that no crowd or no culture can. 193 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,040 We live for an audience of 1. So we can say, does this please 194 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,360 God or does it not please God? And if it pleases God, no matter 195 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,800 how unpopular that makes me with people around me, I still need 196 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,120 to do this. If this does not please God, no 197 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,280 matter how popular it would make me with people around me, I 198 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,200 cannot do that. I should not do that. 199 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,840 I must not do that. Do we treat God as our audience 200 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:40,720 of 1? Practically speaking, that's 201 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,360 what we're doing. Or at least that's that's one of 202 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,920 the major points and intentions and purposes of weekly worship 203 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,480 is to reset our perspective on this. 204 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:55,400 Then we take at least one hour a week and devote it to focusing 205 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,680 on God to remind us that God is our audience of 1. 206 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:01,200 The rest of the week when we're out in the world doing the stuff 207 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,160 that we do that's messy and and confusing sometimes, that God is 208 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,160 our audience there just like he is here. 209 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,200 See here, the popularity trap. It can come to pastors and other 210 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,760 people upfront, whether it's, you know, pianists, organists, 211 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,560 pastors, worship leaders, the folks that are upfront. 212 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,000 It can fall into the popularity trap and we can think of 213 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,360 ourselves as performers and you all as the audience. 214 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:27,480 And our job is to please you because if we please you, then 215 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,760 you'll invite more of your friends and, and there'll be 216 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,000 more people here. And that helps our career and it 217 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,800 helps the offering plate and it helps all of those things. 218 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:40,000 And, and it, it, it, it, it makes us just feel better when 219 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:41,800 there's more people that like us. 220 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,920 That's a trap because I'm not a performer and you're not the 221 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,680 audience, right? The other trap, the trap for you 222 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:52,000 guys is to think of me as a performer and yourselves as the 223 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,480 audience. Because if that's if that's how 224 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:59,520 we think when we're sitting in the pews now we're in the 225 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,800 customer mindset. And then we get to evaluate. 226 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:04,840 Well, that sermon, I didn't like that one very much. 227 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,320 I was out of the music. I can't believe we sang that 228 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,200 song this week and we didn't sing those songs. 229 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,560 And why are we? And we start thinking about how 230 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,880 the things that we do on Sunday morning please us or don't 231 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:18,680 please us. And it's the same thing. 232 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:20,120 It's just the other side of the coin. 233 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,000 We think of the people up front as performers and we think of 234 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,200 ourselves as the audience and the we are the ones to be 235 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,240 pleased. Well, the simple fact is we are 236 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,600 all the performers and God is the audience. 237 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:41,120 And, and what we do here is not for me and it's not for you and 238 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,760 it's not for Anne. It's not for the kids, it's not 239 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:48,560 for the adults. What we do here is for God to 240 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:53,280 give ourselves every week a mental reset to remind ourselves 241 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,000 this is how I need to be living my life. 242 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,320 When I'm not here, when I'm at work, when I'm at school, when 243 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,520 I'm with my family, it's still not about me. 244 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:04,280 I'm not. I'm still not the performer 245 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,440 trying to get the audience, and I'm not the audience trying to 246 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:09,200 make sure the performers please me. 247 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:14,240 I'm performing for an audience of one who is God, and God's 248 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:16,320 opinion is the only one that really matters. 249 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:18,760 That's how we avoid the popularity trap. 250 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,440 The Bible offers us a lot of different examples of this. 251 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,400 John read one of them a little bit ago. 252 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,800 I'm going to read it again briefly and then several others 253 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:32,760 as as a way of sometimes when I do a lot of short scriptures, 254 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:35,760 what I'm doing and I don't, I've never asked. 255 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:40,520 I don't know whether biblical scholars would agree with me on 256 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:45,880 this or not, but one of the ways I weigh how serious an issue is, 257 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,760 is how many times it gets repeated in Scripture. 258 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:54,480 And this issue of popularity of people pleasing versus God 259 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:59,480 pleasing is repeated over and over and over and over again in 260 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,840 the Bible. And, and I just have a few 261 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:05,360 examples, some from the old and some from the New Testament. 262 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,640 Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount at the very beginning says, 263 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,360 blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, 264 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:16,280 falsely, say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 265 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,320 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. 266 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,520 For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were 267 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,080 before you. When we're pleasing God, even if 268 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,160 that leads us to displease other people to the point of being 269 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:33,120 insulted and persecuted, this is a blessing, not a curse. 270 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,760 It's God's approval, not human approval, that matters. 271 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,720 John 12 a few verses there. Anyone who loves their life will 272 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,800 lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will 273 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:48,000 keep it for eternal life. Someone who is who loves their 274 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:49,640 life. A real good indication of 275 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,720 someone who loves their life is how popular they want to be. 276 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,840 If you really want to be popular, if that's driving a 277 00:15:55,840 --> 00:16:00,240 person, then then they're looking entirely at loving this 278 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,640 life and their life in this world. 279 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,320 It's about me and how many people like me. 280 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,320 That's what gives me a sense of self worth. 281 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,680 Jesus says not so much. Whoever serves me must follow me 282 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,560 and where I am, my servant also will be. 283 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,240 My father will honor the one who serves me. 284 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:19,720 We're going to come back to that principle later because that's 285 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,120 echoed in the proverb. It's an echo from Proverbs, and 286 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,280 Jesus was very clear about this. Or the writer of the Gospel of 287 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:28,880 John, it's very clear about this because he said at the same 288 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,080 time, many, even among the leaders believed in Jesus. 289 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,080 But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly 290 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,080 acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the 291 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,040 synagogue. For they loved human praise more 292 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,800 than praise from God. That desire for human praise 293 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,360 more than praise from God, kept people from doing the good and 294 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,640 right thing of acknowledging Jesus as King and as Savior. 295 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,000 Paul said this in First Thessalonians. 296 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,920 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not 297 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,680 without results. We had previously suffered, have 298 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:03,280 been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with 299 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,200 the help of our God, we dared tell you His gospel in the face 300 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,560 of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not 301 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:13,560 spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to 302 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,560 trick you. On the contrary, we speak as 303 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,160 those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. 304 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:23,960 We are not trying to please people, but God who tests our 305 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:29,080 hearts. And then finally, Proverbs 2925. 306 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,000 The fear of people becomes a snare, but whoever trusts in the 307 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,800 Lord will be set on high. The fear of people is a snare. 308 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,760 Seeking after popularity is a snare. 309 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,400 But those who trust in God, those who are treating God as 310 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,840 our audience of one, those will be settled high. 311 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,080 That phrase settled high has a dual meaning. 312 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:53,080 Part of it is, is that sense of being lifted up, honored. 313 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,520 Another place in the Scripture it says, God says, and I think 314 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,240 it's in Deuteronomy. God says those who honor me, I 315 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:01,680 will honor, will be lifted up, will be exalted. 316 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,360 Those who hate their lives will gain it. 317 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:08,280 Those who deny themselves and take up their cross and follow 318 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:11,400 me, they will receive life. And it's that same kind of 319 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:15,520 thing. Those who those who fear God, 320 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,680 who seek God, who keep their focus on God, God will lift up 321 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:20,880 and God will honor. But that lifting up means 322 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:22,600 something else. And it's a very specific, 323 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,120 concrete thing there. That word, when it's used in the 324 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,920 Old Testament, almost always means put up high in a strong 325 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,040 tower. It's a military term and and 326 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:36,960 high and a strong tower means you're in a position of safety 327 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,800 and security. And so God says if you spend 328 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:46,440 your life seeking the popularity, seeking praise from 329 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,040 others, you will always be at their mercy. 330 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,240 You will always be insecure because there's always a danger 331 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:56,520 that you will mess up, mess up, you will slip, you will fall, 332 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,080 you will stumble, and all of those people who have been 333 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:01,800 praising you will turn their backs and judge you and condemn 334 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,920 you. If your safety depends on your 335 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:08,640 popularity, if your security depends on your popularity, you 336 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:11,560 are always unsafe and always insecure. 337 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,760 But if you fear God, if you honor him and keep him as your 338 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,200 focus, then God will keep you safe. 339 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,160 Now as followers of Jesus, we always need to remind ourselves 340 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:28,120 as well that God keeping us safe doesn't mean free from bodily 341 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,880 harm at all times, doesn't mean free from persecution and 342 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:36,000 rejection and condemnation. Jesus already said, if you get 343 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,280 those in my name, that's a blessing. 344 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,360 Keeping us safe means even if we're rejected, even if we're 345 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:48,200 hated, even if we're killed, God will give us our lives back and 346 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:53,040 preserve us for all eternity. That's avoiding the popularity 347 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,880 trap. And now we can consider Jesus. 348 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:00,200 More specifically, Jesus gives us one of the greatest examples 349 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,120 of avoiding the popularity trap in all of history. 350 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,480 He's out in the wilderness. He's near the Sea of Galilee. 351 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,160 I think he's teaching, He's preaching. 352 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:12,200 He has become very popular. If you look just at the numbers, 353 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,440 arguably this was the high point of Jesus's popularity. 354 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:17,320 Thousands of people are around him. 355 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,480 They didn't bring any food or they didn't bring enough food. 356 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,160 They run out of food. Jesus multiplies some loaves, 357 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,880 multiplies some fish and feeds. According to the Bible, 5000 358 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,600 men, not counting women and children, which means there were 359 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,040 men, women and children there. There were 5000 men. 360 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:37,160 If you add in women and children, it's you get a 361 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,000 reasonable estimate of anywhere between 10 and 20,000 people 362 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,160 that were there. As a lot of folks. 363 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:47,720 If I were to go out in the wilderness today and say hey, 364 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,080 I'm going to be preaching, I wouldn't get 10,000 people come 365 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,720 out to listen. We'd probably probably not. 366 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,520 Yeah, no. Jesus. 367 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:01,280 Very popular and and it was around in this time. 368 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:03,320 I can't, I cannot, I should have checked this. 369 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,000 I can't remember. This was right at this time. 370 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,080 It was around in this time. The people were also trying to 371 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,360 make Jesus king. He's like, no, you're not going 372 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,640 to make me king. You're not going to make me 373 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,200 king. If you make me king, then you 374 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,160 can unmake me king. My kingship doesn't depend on 375 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:20,560 you. I'm not living for popularity. 376 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:26,160 And so Jesus sneaks off at night to get away from the 10s of 377 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,400 thousands of people that have come to follow him. 378 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:32,920 He sneaks off, people wake up in the morning, they discovered 379 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,440 that Jesus is gone. So they go looking for him. 380 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,960 That's how popular he is. And they find him. 381 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,160 And when they get there, Jesus turns to them and says, you know 382 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,560 what, you guys, the only reason you're following me is for the 383 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,400 free food. That's what he said. 384 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,000 You just want me to make more bread for you. 385 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:57,960 And then he said, if you really want to follow me, if you're 386 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,440 really serious about being my follower, you need to eat my 387 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,000 flesh and drink my blood. That did not sit well with the 388 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,920 people and they left. They all left. 389 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:13,640 Almost all of them left until five 10s of thousands of people 390 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:15,680 walk away from Jesus at that moment. 391 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,320 And the only ones that are left are the 12. 392 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,680 And Jesus says to the 12 are you going to leave me too? 393 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,000 That's how unconcerned about popularity Jesus was. 394 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:35,600 His mission, his mission was to change the world, to save the 395 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,520 world, to help the people of the world be reconciled to God. 396 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,560 Most people in this day and age, if they had that kind of mission 397 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:50,120 in mind, they would be so focused on how many people can 398 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:54,800 we get, how popular can we be? Because the more popular we are, 399 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,800 the more influence we'll have, the more good we can do. 400 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,520 The more people we attract, the more money we attract, The more 401 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:04,240 money we have, the more good we can do, the more money we have, 402 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,880 the more people we can attract. Let's get more people and more 403 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,800 money. And Jesus turned his back on 404 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,800 that entire mindset. He said I don't need to be 405 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,120 popular with people to do the mission God has given me. 406 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,280 I just need to be faithful to God. 407 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,640 That's all I need. I don't need to be liked. 408 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,520 I don't need to be loved. I just need to do what God has 409 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:36,880 given me to do. His disciples were getting it by 410 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,360 this point. They didn't get it completely, 411 00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:41,440 but they were getting it. And Jesus said to him, are you 412 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:43,800 going to leave too? And Peter said, you know, no, 413 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:47,840 you're the only one that has the words of life. 414 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,440 They were getting it that there was something different about 415 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:53,640 Jesus. There was something special 416 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,160 about Jesus. And it wasn't the goodies that 417 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,040 he had to offer that kept in there. 418 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:03,840 It was the life that in Jesus was that life that they wanted, 419 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,680 and that life that they wanted they were beginning to see had 420 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,160 nothing to do with being popular, nothing to do with 421 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:16,320 crowds of people approving or pleasing them, and that they 422 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:18,720 would learn the same thing. The mission that God had given 423 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:24,560 them was not a quest to become popular and to gain influence by 424 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,800 by getting people to like them. It was to be faithful to God and 425 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,200 love and serve and share as God had told them to love and serve 426 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:39,080 and share. Jesus gives us that example. 427 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,040 Followers of Jesus need to discipline and train themselves 428 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,920 to be more concerned with what God thinks of us than what other 429 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:52,080 people think of us, and to seek God's honor and esteem rather 430 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,440 than the honor and esteem of others. 431 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,880 That's how Jesus lived with his attention on God. 432 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,720 He said at one point, I don't do or say anything that my father 433 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:08,960 has not taught me to do or say. And Paul tells us we need to 434 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,840 have the same mind of Jesus. And that includes on this area 435 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,280 that our focus on God, be more concerned with what God thinks 436 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,560 and seeking God's honor and esteem, not the praise and 437 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,400 esteem of other people, Mary and Joseph. 438 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,880 That was the Christmas slide. I'm going to skip over that one 439 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:31,400 and jump to the end here. One of the challenges in the 440 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:37,240 world, particularly with a group of people that has a sense of 441 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:41,640 mission, we need to accomplish this there. 442 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,680 There's evil. Part of our baptismal vows in 443 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,360 the United Methodist Church is that we will resist evil, 444 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:50,280 injustice, and oppression. And whatever forms they present 445 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,240 themselves. The world tells us we need two 446 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,680 things to do that. We need money and we need 447 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,080 popularity. We've got to have the resources 448 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,960 and we got to have the people. And so the way to make an impact 449 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:07,760 in the world is to be as attractive to as many people as 450 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,920 possible and get as much money as possible. 451 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:14,600 Then you can make a difference. Jesus by his life and his 452 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,320 example and his apostles by their life and their example. 453 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,880 Give us a different message, they say, if you want to make an 454 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:25,520 impact in the world and keep your focus on God and be 455 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,080 faithful to what God tells you to do, no matter what the cost, 456 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,880 no matter what the cost. And that's the way to have an 457 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,760 impact. Because the impact then is not 458 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,680 the impact of how popular we are, but it's the impact of 459 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:43,800 God's Holy Spirit working through US. 460 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:46,960 Jesus would not allow the people to make him a king. 461 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:52,000 If his kingship depended on the people, then he was a slave to 462 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,160 the people who voted him in his king. 463 00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:00,080 Jesus was already king, made by God, his king. 464 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,760 So he knew no matter what the people thought of him, he would 465 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:07,680 still be king. He would still be king even if 466 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:12,520 he died. Our ability to make a difference 467 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,760 in this community, in this world, depends not upon our 468 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,600 popularity, not upon our wealth, but upon our faithfulness to 469 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:21,000 God. So as you're dreaming this year, 470 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,960 I hope you're not dreaming of being popular. 471 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:28,760 If not, call Paisley. She'll sing the song for you and 472 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,720 you'll remember. All right, can you do that? 473 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,040 All right, awesome. We got it. 474 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:42,120 Let's dream of being faithful. Let's dream of making God the 475 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:46,240 one member of our audience, the one person we're trying to 476 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,480 please in Jesus name. Amen. 477 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:49,280 Amen.