Do You Dream of Being Popular? (Chester UMC)

We're starting a new series here today, Dreams for a new year,

and we're going to be doing that for the rest of January, I think

maybe the first Sunday in February as well.

I have a confession to make though.

The sermon I'm preaching today was not originally intended for

this series. It was intended for our Wicked

for Christmas series and but I tweaked it so it would fit in

this series because Paisley worked so hard to sing, to learn

the song popular to sing to us. And then we got snowed out on

the 14th when she was scheduled to sing and she has such a

beautiful voice. I wanted to be able to right

then I fell because you were going to do it last Sunday and

then I fell. So we got bumped again.

So she's been bumped twice and and we're very, very excited

that she's going to be singing for us today.

And and I I had to tweak the sermon.

Not a whole lot. It still fits.

And but as we're talking about the new year, and I know new

beginnings, New Years, they always seem to inspire dreams

and, and imaginings of what the future might hold.

And sometimes those imaginings and dreams are exciting and

sometimes they're terrifying. But we're going to talk a little

bit today and for the rest of the month about these dreams for

the new year. And the question today is, do

you dream of being popular? Is that one of your dreams for

the new year of, of having more folks like you, more people that

follow you on, on Facebook if you're my generation, or, or, or

Tiktok if you're, you know, younger than 30, I don't know

Tiktok 35. I'm not sure where the Tiktok

generation starts, but it's definitely younger than me.

Do you dream of getting more likes of more follows, of more

love, of more popularity? You know, popularity is a very

nice thing and, and it matters how popular we are.

It really does matter. We're going to talk about that

in a minute. But there are some risks to

popularity as well. Now in the the movie Wicked, the

two main characters, Glenda and Alphaba, Glenda was popular.

She was incredibly popular. Everyone liked Glenda, everyone

admired Glenda. Everyone wanted to be like

Glenda. Everyone followed Glenda's

advice and tips and guidance. She was the trend setter setter.

She was the standard setter and she and Alphaba became

roommates. And nobody liked Alphaba, at

least nobody at school. Most people didn't like Elphaba.

She was the the epitome and definition of unpopular.

And Glenda felt that the greatest gift that she had to

offer Elphaba was to teach her how to be popular.

And popularity matters. In spite of what our parents

tell us growing up, sometimes it doesn't matter.

Popularity matters it It matters whether people like you or not.

It matters whether people approve of you or not.

It affects your social life. It affects your friendship

network. It affects sometimes your self

esteem. It can affect jobs that you get

and a career path that you may or may not have it.

It can affect how well you do at your job.

We, we've all heard the expression it's not what you

know it too, you know, And that's another way of saying

that popularity matters. Who likes you, who respects you,

who admires you? Who is Who is following your

your your family, or following your career or following your

education? Following what you're doing,

following your successes and your failures.

Popularity. Popularity can determine whether

we get the raise, whether we get the promotion.

Popularity can determine how we feel about ourselves.

Popularity can determine how well our kids do in school and

whether school is a blessing or a curse.

Popularity matters. The problem comes when we place

too much value and too much importance or the wrong kind of

value and the wrong kind of importance on popularity because

popularity, because it matters. Popularity is also a trap.

One of the the well, the Scripture on the opening slide

is, is that you know that seeking the approval of people

is a snare, but God lifts up those whom God approves.

The snare is this. Once we decide, it's one thing

to recognize that popularity matters.

It's another thing to live for popularity, to make that the

goal of what we do and the reason why we do things.

Once we live for popularity, once we make that the goal of

what we're doing and the reason why we're doing it, then

popularity has us and it holds us because now we belong to the

people who approve or disapprove.

Social media is the easiest way to see this and the the culture

of influence and influencers that has grown up on social

media over the past decade or so here, because once you start

gathering followers, you have to please the followers or you'll

lose the followers. And so now you can't choose what

you say just because to say what you say or, or do what you do

just because it's important to you, because you have to gauge

how people will react to that. Because if you lose followers,

then you lose influence and you lose influence and you lose

advertising and you lose advertising and you lose money.

And worst case scenario, you get cancelled and you get a, a, a

plague of negative attention on social media or in real life.

This was true long before social media.

And we know that everyone here, I, I'm sure, I hope, I think

probably knows who Michael Jordan is.

And, and I'm not a basketball expert.

I still think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball,

greatest basketball player who has ever lived.

But Michael was a businessman as well as a basketball player.

And his deal with Nike was a revolutionary kind of deal.

And he has made a lot of money selling sneakers and tennis

shoes throughout his career and, and his life and, and early on

in his career. And when his trajectory was

really high and he was at the, you know, reaching and, and, and

achieving the height of his popularity, there was, as there

always is in this country, political turmoil.

And Jordan was asked and pressured by people around him

to take a stand. And in this particular case,

just take a stand for the Democrat candidate for president

during that particular election. I'm not even sure which election

it was, but to take a stand and promote them.

And he refused to do it. And people asked him why and he

said this is an interview. I think you can find it on

YouTube somewhere. And they asked what why and, and

Jordan's response was, is because Republicans buy sneakers

too. And, and, and that's a good

business decision. It's also a reflection of what a

trap popularity can be. Now, I'm not trying to throw

stones at Michael Jordan. I, I don't know what his

politics are. I don't know any of that.

I don't know what I, but if we're in a spot where, where

we're saying, I can't say this because I'll lose my customers.

If, if what that thing is is something that doesn't really

matter and isn't really important or is really a

secondary issue, then fine. You know, I, I, that's cool.

But if, if we find ourselves saying I have to hide who I am,

I have to pretend my beliefs are something other than they are

because I don't want to lose popularity.

Now we're in that trap. We're in that trap.

Speaking of that, we're going to see, are we ready?

Awesome. Come on up.

Now it's time to hear the song. At this point in the sermon,

Paisley Partlow sang Popular. She did a beautiful job with the

song and I wish I could include it here, but due to technical

limitations, I could not get a good recording of her singing.

You can, however, find Ariana Grande's version on YouTube and

all major music platforms. Now back to the sermon.

All right, good job, well done. Thank you, Paisley.

Very well done. Popularity is a trap is a trap

and and the singing of it can be a lot of fun.

But living for popularity keeps us under the thumb of the people

whose opinions we are craving all the time.

To stay popular means we have to keep pleasing the crowd.

We have to keep doing what we think we'll be admired for

doing. And we're we've become bound to

maintain that popularity. One of the pieces in this in, in

one of the realities of our modern culture is that that we

are have very, very clearly become tribalistic.

And there it's rare to find, you know, back in the days like in

the 80s, seventies and 80s, you knew what you were doing, I

think, wasn't it? It's weird that I can still

remember this. I think Tuesday night at 8, you

remember Happy Days. Tuesday night at 8 and everybody

watched Happy Days and, and everybody watched The Waltons

and, and, and God help us, everybody watched Hee Haw on, on

Saturdays. Everybody knew what the popular

shows were on television. Now we're spread out all over

the place and and my kids watch stuff on YouTube that I

absolutely know nothing about and get really confused by when

they say, Hey, would you mind? This happened with what our our

son when he was home. He hates when I talk about him,

but he won't be listening to this.

So the the the he said, Hey, do you mind if we watch this

YouTube? Who builds aquariums?

And we spend an hour watching a guy build an aquarium on YouTube

and he loves that stuff. I'm going, OK, that's

interesting. I don't get it, but it's kind of

cool. We're fragmented and within

those tribes we have no problem typically making people in other

tribes angry. We see that in politics very

clearly, the rage baiting and, and all the kinds of the things

that happens where we try to get the people in the other tribe to

look bad while we look good to our tribe.

And our mind can tell us that we're being righteous when we're

doing things like that because it's OK if those folks don't

like me. The problem is when we're

popular, when we're seeking popularity, even if it's just

within our tribe, it's still a trap because no tribe, however

good they are, whether it's a political tribe or a social

tribe or whatever kind of no tribe is perfect.

And sometimes we have to look at our own tribe and say this is a

problem with us. But if we're if we're again, if

we're living for the popularity, we'll never be able to do that

because when we criticize the people that are praising us, we

risk losing the praise and losing the popularity.

So how do we avoid this trap? Popularity matters.

It affects us, it affects our lives.

It affects the lives of our kids.

It affects politics, it affects religion, it affects all of the

different parts of our lives. How do we avoid the trap while

living in this world where popularity matters?

By living for an audience of 1. The key to avoiding the trap is

to do what Paisley told me she needed to do this morning.

She said when I sing, I just need to be singing to God and

God needs to be happy with me. It doesn't matter whether other

folks are. And I said, you just preached

the sermon. We'd have been done by now if

you'd been here earlier. Just saying, followers of Jesus,

to avoid the popularity trap, we need to live for an audience of

one understanding the God sees everything clearly, God calls

out what's real, and God holds us accountable in a way that no

crowd or culture can. We don't have to worry about

cancellation on one side. We don't have to worry about

being popular and having all the likes and all of the views and

all of the love and all of the influence on the other.

If our focus is just on, is this pleasing to God?

For whom am I doing this? Why am I doing this?

Worship is a great tool for this because that's what worship is

about. One of the reasons the church

gathers and worship every week is to make sure that we keep our

focus on our audience of one who is God.

We don't do this for us. I mean, there's a sense in which

it's good for us, just like exercise is good for us.

But I don't exercise either. So that's not a really helpful

analogy for me. But we, we do this for God.

The trap is, you know, there's always a trap that has to be

avoided. That the trap when you're

standing up front, whether you're a pastor or, and other

churches and worship leader, whether you're the, the pianist

or organist, whether you're, if someone that's upfront.

The trap is in thinking this is about me and, and I need to stay

popular with the folks that are out there.

The trap for sitting out there is, is thinking that it's about

you, that your customers here and the customer is always

right. And if not getting the songs

that I like and the sermons that I like and the programs that I

like, then there's a problem here.

But you're not customers and I'm not a performer.

This show isn't for us. What we do here is for God to

give God credit, to give God praise, to give God glory, to

reset our focus on God for at least an hour every week and and

hope and pray that that carries over throughout the rest of the

week. So when we're not intentionally

and directly talking about God, we're still remembering who our

audience is, whether we're at work or whether we're at school.

It's not really about pleasing the teacher.

It's not really about pleasing our friends.

It's not really about pleasing our boss.

It's not really about pleasing the customers.

At the end of the day, it's about pleasing God and making

God our audience of 1. I want to read through a few

verses. Couple of them we've already

read, but I'm going to hit them again because they're short,

because this is this theme runs throughout the Old and the New

Testament and and in a very real sense, it's at the core of our

identity. Blessed are you, Jesus said.

When people insult you, persecute you and falsely say

all kinds of evil things against you because of me, rejoice and

be glad because great is your reward in heaven.

For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were

before you, don't worry about being canceled.

Don't worry about being hated on for doing now, if you're doing

rotten stuff, then that's on you, right?

There's no blessing in that. If you're out doing rotten stuff

and people say, hey, you're rotten, then there's this is not

what Jesus is talking about. He says when you're out treating

me as your audience of 1 and doing the good that I've called

you to do. And if people are bad mouthing

you for that, that's their problem.

That's their problem. You'll be blessed.

You may be persecuted now, but you will be blessed in heaven.

John 1225 and 26. Anyone who loves their life will

lose it. Anyone who hates their life in

this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am my servant

will also be. My father will honor the one who

serves me. Part of that loving our lives

again is popularity. If we love our life, if if we 11

particularly deadly way to love our lives is to seek popularity

and to live for popularity, to make my life all about the

approval of others instead of about serving God.

The same time, many of them, even among the elders, believed

in Jesus, but because of the Pharisees, they would not openly

acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the

synagogue. For they loved human praise more

than praise from God. 1st Thessalonians 2 one through 4

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not

without results. We had previously suffered and

been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know.

But with the help of our God, we dared to tell you His gospel in

the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not

spring from error or impure motives.

We are not, nor are we trying to trick you.

On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be

entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please

people, but God who tests our hearts.

And then the verse that we had on the opening slide, the fear

of people becomes a snare. But whoever trusts the Lord will

be set on high, hiding these words in our hearts, keeping our

focus on God, and remembering that over and over and over

again in the Scripture we see by word and by example that living

for praise from other human beings is is a a, a quick road

to hell. Living for the honor and praise

that comes from God is that straight and narrow way that

leads to life that we don't live to please others.

We don't speak to please others, no matter who those others are.

We live and speak and breathe and work and play to please God.

When we can do that, then we avoid the popularity snare.

Consider Jesus. Jesus, One of the temptations

the devil put in front of Jesus was to live for popularity.

That's what the temple test was about in the wilderness when the

devil said to Jesus, throw yourself off the temple because

God has commanded his angels concerning you that it will not

let you come to harm. Scott Blevins paraphrase there,

why the temple? Why not a mountain?

Because the temple was public. The temple was where everyone

was. It would make a big splash.

It would gain him a lot of followers.

People would admire and respect him because they would see this

undeniable miracle right in front of them.

And Jesus said, no, I'm not here to test God.

I'm not here to gain cliques or gain votes.

I'm not running for office. We see it even more dramatically

flying after me. My goodness, I must be sweet.

Did it crawl up the shirt? I just, I'm just that sweet.

Let's see. I was again hoping a little more

laugh than that, you know. But Jesus showed us even more

when at a point when he fed Bible says 5000 men, not

counting women and children. So that it you know, if arguably

every man that's there is there with his wife and they have a

kid or two, we're looking at 15. This fly is just determined to

distract me today. He's die bombing me.

My goodness, maybe I'm not that sweet and and Jesus had 1520

thousand people. That were there people that

wanted to make him a king? It is determined my my son got

an assault. He got one of those little salt

pistols that you can shoot bugs out of the air with thinking I

should have kept it for myself. Jesus left that place where he,

all those 10s of thousands of people had come to admire him

and we're admiring him and, and we're praising him and we're

honoring him and he snuck off and he left them.

And when they found out that he snuck off and left and they went

after him, that's how popular Jesus was.

And when they caught up with him, he turned around and he

said to thousands and thousands of people, the only reason

you're after me is for the free food I fed you.

You're after me for the free food.

Anyone that wants to follow me needs to eat my flesh and drink

my blood. Turned a lot of people off.

At the end it came down to everyone left but the 12.

Everyone left but the 12. Jesus was not seeking

popularity. He said to the 12, are you going

to leave too? And they said you're the only

place where we can find life. You're the only one that has the

life that we really want and really need.

And they stayed and followed and they learned that lesson that

day that carried on. You see it in the book of Acts

when, when, when they did the same kinds of things, risking

persecution, actually receiving persecution to tell others about

Jesus because they knew Jesus was the only source of life.

And it wasn't about them being popular.

It was about them honoring God. And that's how Jesus lived.

We're going to be heading into Lent real soon and we'll we'll

tell again the story of of Palm Sunday, where Jesus entered

Jerusalem and was hailed by thousands in the city as the

king, as the Messiah. And less than a week later, he

was being crucified because he refused to let them make him

king. If his kingship rested on his

popularity, then they would control him.

But his kingship came from God, and he was going to honor God

whether others followed him or others killed him.

Consider Jesus in this. Followers of Jesus need to

discipline and train themselves to live and think like Jesus.

Be more concerned with what God thinks of us than what other

people think of us. To seek God's honor and esteem

rather than the honor and esteem of others have the same mind

that Jesus had is what Paul writes to us in Philippians.

And part of that mind is a mind that says I want to honor God

and I don't care how that impacts my popularity.

We can consider Mary and Joseph too.

I this was the Christmas part, which I'll do in a little more

briefly here, but Mary and Joseph living in the small town

of Nazareth and Mary agreeing to what the Angel said.

Let it be with me as you have said, let the Holy Spirit make

me pregnant and have this baby even though I'm not married.

And she becomes pregnant outside of marriage.

She was engaged, but they hadn't been married yet.

And and the loss of honor and reputation that that caused is

difficult for us to imagine in this day and age.

And for Joseph to go ahead and marry her anyway meant him

losing honor and reputation as well.

But it wasn't about the honor. It wasn't about the reputation,

it wasn't about the popularity for them.

It was about what does God want? What is God asking us to do?

What is God asking me to do? And if that costs me popularity,

if it costs me praise, if it costs me friends, if it costs me

the goodwill even of neighbors and family, I will still do it

when I know that this is what God is calling me to do.

Because it's not about the praise and it's not about the

popularity. It's about God, It's about God.

Elphaba was not popular and and that was OK with her.

Well, no, it really wasn't. It was a cause of great distress

for her and Glenda thought that the best way to help Elphaba was

to teach her how to be popular. Not as popular as Glenda, but

popular. How to please the crowd.

How to get the boy. How to get everyone to like you.

How to get folks to laugh at your jokes.

How to get people to admire her admire you.

That was Glenda's wheelhouse, and that's what she thought

Alphaba needed. But that's not what Alphaba

needed. Alphaba didn't need to learn to

be popular. Alphaba needed a friend to stand

beside her even when she was unpopular.

Alphaba needed an ally who would work with her and fight with her

to resist the evil, injustice and oppression that was in the

world. That's what not lessons in

popularity. One of the greatest mistakes

that we can make is to think to get God's will be done.

We pray that every thy Kingdom come, thy will be done for to

for that to happen, for the church to do that is that we

then have to be popular. If we can just get enough

followers, if we can just get enough people in the building,

then we can have influence, then we can make a difference.

It's a trap. We don't need to be popular to

do God's will. We don't need to be popular to

be part of God's Kingdom coming here on earth just like it is in

heaven. We need to be faithful.

We need to be faithful to God. We need to be faithful and

loving and caring toward one another because as soon as we

start courting popularity, as soon as it becomes about the

numbers, as soon as it becomes you know how many likes or how

many clicks or how many buts are in the seats, As soon as it

becomes about that, now that is in charge and that is in

control. And that is the thing that's

driving us rather than God. And that's the trap of

popularity. It's like money in that way.

Those are two things that I, you know, I, I, I, I hear and, and,

and I feel those pressures. If I just had more money, if I

just had more thought for, you know, popularity, then then I

could get so much more done in this world for God.

Jesus died on the cross alone. And that's the most important

thing that's been done on this world since creation.

And all we need is to be like Jesus and to be faithful, to do

what God calls us to do, to make him our audience, and to let

others respond with praise or with condemnation as they may in

Jesus name. Amen.

Amen.