Phase 1: Social Distinction

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We exist to awaken this generation to new life in Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

To find out more, go to awakeningchurch.com.

Well, this morning we're kicking off a brand new series called Social Restoration.

Uh, I don't know about you.

Actually, I do know about you.

Uh, I'm ready to be with people.

And we all are ready for that moment.

We need to be together.

And as we begin to emerge from our shelter in place reality, as we're phasing back into whatever this new normal is, I thought just to begin this conversation, maybe we could start with um taking a second and talking about this.

Like, this thing is crazy.

Not that it's a cowboy's face mask, don't judge me, um, but that it is a this has become like our new normal.

Like, who knew that at the beginning of 2020, the the most sought-after fashion accessory would be the face mask?

Like, is that insane?

Like, this is like I need a designer face mask.

Uh, and like, I don't know about you either, but I still find it so incredibly weird when I go to the grocery store and everybody's wearing these masks, and I'm like, oh my goodness, it's like something apocalyptic is going on, and it's very strange to me.

And can we talk just for a second about the people?

I don't mean to step on any toes, but well, here I go.

Uh, the people who wear the face mask in their car by themselves, I don't I don't understand it.

Maybe there's I'm sure there's a reason, but uh I I kind of want to yell, and this wouldn't be appropriate, so I don't like you're doing it wrong.

Like you're by yourself.

You can't get corona by I, anyways.

But then I find that I'm doing it wrong all the time because I wear this and all of a sudden I am uh become an incredibly loud talker.

Do you find that as well?

Like I'm wearing this, and as as if it blocks so much sound, I have to yell at you.

I'm already a loud talker, so it's terrible then when I'm wearing this thing, and you're like, just I bring it, bring it down a bit.

And who knew that this one little thing would be so divisive in our world today, too?

Whether you wear it or don't, when you wear it, and the amount of judgment and criticism and things that we bring to the table.

So the question is how do we transition from social isolation, social distancing, to social restoration?

You see, we don't want to just re-engage as a community, as you know, and bring back all our old habits and how we did life together.

In fact, we want to take this opportunity to press the reset button and go, okay, this is what it looks like to be a Christ-centered gospel community.

And so, how do we experience social restoration as we begin to engage back in social activity?

And as you already recognize, that question has so much more weight today than we I think we even knew when we first outlined this series months and months and months ago.

As this week, our nation has been rocked by a horrific murder of Mr.

George Floyd, and then we have the outcry and the social unrest of not just protests but then rioters that are impacting and taking over the national narrative.

In fact, uh this week we saw it take place in the Bay Area in San Jose.

And the question is how do we have experienced social restoration in a country that's experiencing social unrest?

Well, James, the brother of Jesus, he was pastoring a community that was undergoing their own COVID reality.

Uh, in fact, an incredibly unjust death had happened to the church.

It was the stoning of Stephen, uh, where he was stoned to death and a persecution broke out uh on the church.

And so this church in Jerusalem, these people were scattered from their homes, and then they're trying to figure out how to do life, how how to engage back in uh to like what does it look like to be a follower of Jesus when your world's turned upside down and you're dispersed and displaced from your norms and your society and your relationships and your family.

And and so he begins in chapter two talking about this social restoration, and we're actually gonna look at four phases because our government's talking about reinstating social, you know, society in phases.

I figured let's talk about in phases as well.

Four phases for social restoration, social distinction.

That's what we're talking about today.

Next week, social action.

The following week is gonna be our social language, so important, and then finally, social wisdom.

I hope you join us for all of these as we learn how to be a community that brings social restoration, that brings the gospel to much needed communities and people.

And so this morning, let's talk about social distinction.

See, James is gonna say if you want to experience social restoration, there needs to be a social distinction that marks the community of Jesus.

There needs to be a clear distinction that set aside, uh set apart the community and the followers of Jesus.

And so we're gonna pick up uh what James says in his letter, James, it's by titled by his name, uh, chapter two, verse one.

If you got your Bibles, would you open up to them?

He begins this way: My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.

My brothers and sisters, believers, followers of Jesus, people who have committed their life to Jesus, who say, Your way, Jesus, not my way, your calling to lay down your life, take up your cross, and follow him.

Believers.

You must not show favoritism.

First things James is going to tell us is there is a social distinction for followers of Jesus.

Like the social distinction of Christian is there is to be no social distinction.

Now, I love how James opens this up.

He says it this way brothers and sisters.

And if you're reading the book of James, you'll note that he uses that uh many times.

In fact, 14 times.

It's like, brothers and sisters.

And in this context, I just can see James like trying to remind his people that you're brothers, your sisters, your family, you love each other.

It reminds me of when um my boys especially are in the backyard, and most of the time it's great, but every once in a while, you know, they're wrestling and something happens and all of a sudden it gets really, really heated, or you know, I have to go back there every once in a while and just go, hey guys, yeah, cool it.

You're brothers, you love each other.

Come on, we're family, and family sticks together, and family takes care of one another.

This is what James is saying.

He says, believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, like that's what's most important about us, distinguishing us.

And then he says this must not show favoritism.

In fact, the construction in the Greek there is it's assume that this is already happening, that this is going on right now.

In fact, it's a command that's saying, stop what you're doing.

There's an activity going on and you need to halt it right now.

And so the command is simply this: stop playing favorites.

The church in Jerusalem that spread out, all of a sudden, they're beginning to show favoritism or partiality or preference to certain people, which means you're not showing favor, not showing partiality, not showing kindness to other types of people.

The social distinction of a Christ-centered community is that there is to be no social distinction.

I'm not gonna play favors for you.

I'm not gonna make you higher than anyone else.

In fact, it's interesting.

Uh William Barclay, um uh theologian, writes this the church was the only place in the ancient world where social distinction did not exist.

It was a society built on classes, a society built on your social dignity and distinction.

And you gotta imagine how how incredibly weird this must have been as a new community formed, and you would have a master and a slave sitting next to each other as equals.

Or better yet, what often happened because early Christianity was a religion of the poor, not of the elite.

It was a religion that spread among those who didn't have much and who were mistreated and who were outfits, um, misfits, rather.

And and you would have a slave leading the church gathering, and you have a master sitting under his leadership, and you had this incredible uh new reality of how we are to relate to one another.

And he says, Stop playing favorites.

Well, what is favoritism?

Uh the um Greek and English lexicon of the New Testament.

So if you wanted to go look this up, you could define favoritism this way to make unjust distinctions between people by treating one person better than another, to make an unjust distinction between people by treating one person better than the other.

And the underbelly of favoritism is prejudice.

I make a prejudgment about who you are.

At favoritism, I'm gonna play favorites because you're wealthy.

I'm gonna, you know, because I can get something from you.

I'm gonna play favoritism because you're influential.

Maybe you're an influencer on Instagram or something like that.

And you're like, man, I want to rub up and get next to those type of people.

I'm gonna play favoritism because you have some sort of power or influence, or maybe you have a position that you hold, which then means that those who don't hold that or who become in any way less than that, we treat less than.

And he says, stop playing favorites.

We do this in the church spiritually, we play favorites with who's our favorite pastor.

Stop playing favorites with what's our favorite, you know, church denomination.

Stop playing favorites.

We we do this socially, whether it's rich, poor, black, white, whatever it is, stop playing favorites.

We do this politically.

Oh, it's an election year.

Stop playing favorites.

And we're gonna talk about this in a minute, but you can disagree with someone and still honor and love them.

And politically, what we do is we take our partisan side and anchor that and play favorites and push down and malign those who are on the opposite side.

He says, stop playing favorites.

Well, what does favoritism or partiality look like?

James is then gonna go and share an illustration and it's out uh of their own context.

He's just ripping it out.

He says, suppose you know a rich person shows up to your gathering, and I want you to kind of put it in our context.

Uh suppose, like um someone pulls up to awaken, and remember when we met at Delmard?

Yeah, I remember those too.

Those were awesome days.

I can't wait for us to gather again.

But remember that?

And and he says, suppose someone pulled up in a Ferrari, and they're like, you know, pull up, they step out, and you know, obviously this red Ferrari, because that's the kind of Ferrari you have to get if you're gonna get a Ferrari.

And he pulls up and he eye-catching, everyone's like, Whoa, look at this guy, steps out, he's got designer jeans, the coolest, you know, shirt.

He's wearing the gold rim glasses, perfect hair, perfect smile.

And you're just like, wow, look at him.

And uh, and everybody's kind of looking at like, oh, I want to get around him.

I mean, he's got money, he's got it.

Maybe he's an important person.

And then he says, Suppose a poor person comes in.

In our context, maybe it's a homeless person.

And he says, if you take that wealthy person and you put them in a seat of honor, and then you say to the poor person, you know what, you can stand in the back.

That homeless guy, you know what, you can sit over here.

We don't really have a seat over here.

How about how about you stand outside?

You're kind of smelly.

He makes this interesting comment.

Notice what James says about when we do that.

He says, Have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges?

Remember that pre-judging prejudice become judges with evil thoughts.

See, favoritism is so prevalent in our culture, and we all are guilty of it that we've become blind to it.

It happens in the church, is what James is saying.

And he says it should not happen.

The distinctive mark of a follower of Jesus, of the church and the bride of Christ, is that there is to be no social distinction.

So let's unpack this.

What does you know favoritism and partiality really look like?

First, it looks like uh exactly what James is saying, treating certain people as more valuable than other people.

It looks like treating someone else that they're more valuable, more worth your time, worth your energy, worth your thoughts than other people.

And the inverse then is true as well.

That if you treat other people as more valuable, then you're gonna treat certain people as less valuable than you.

It's interesting.

I love this quote.

Rabbi uh Jonathan Sachs says this the supreme religious challenge is to see God's image in one who is not made, who is not in our image.

Let me say that again.

I stumbled, I want you to get it.

The supreme religious challenge is to see God's image in one who is not in our image.

See how I treat you is a reflection of me and how valuable I believe you to be.

And God's going like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second.

Every single person on the planet, rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat, is an image bearer of the God most high and valuable.

See, favoritism plays out when I treat certain people as more valuable than other people, when I treat wealthy people as more valuable, when I treat uh uh beautiful people, when I treat influencers, when I treat those in important positions as more valuable than other people.

It looks like when I look down on those with whom I disagree.

When I'm looking down, and what happens when we look down, we also often put down people.

When we look down on people, we often lash out at them.

See, I I think it's interesting.

Oh, here it is, that there are so many opinions and so much angst over this little piece of cloth.

And a lot of people, whether you wear it or don't wear it, are looking down on one another.

In fact, there's this interesting post uh in the Washington Post or article in the Washington Post called Um Play Outside or something like that, but watch out for pandemic Peggy.

And it just was talking about the whole idea of there's certain people that that want to lash out, that that live in their crystal cathedrals, and then they want to put down all these people, you know, maybe these kids that are playing on playgrounds.

You're like, how could you?

And there he talks about one example of someone calling the authorities of these kids playing on playgrounds.

Well, you know, my home is I'm so grateful.

We have a backyard.

So being in pandemic is uh has been a thing where our kids have been able to play in the backyard.

His point was it this has hurt those who don't have a backyard, where the park is the only place where they're able to go and to be able to get outside.

And when you're living in a 400 or 300 square foot apartment and there's a bunch of you packed in, you just need to get out.

Would we all be so careful about making a prejudgment about why others are doing that?

You know, you're wondering like, why is somebody wearing a mask?

Or why, better yet, aren't they?

Well, you don't know if they have asthma or not.

You don't know if something's going on with them.

See, prejudice or favoritism or partiality, it's treating people as more valuable than others.

It's also looking down on those with whom you disagree.

And finally, it's overlooking those who make you feel uncomfortable.

It's when we overlook the people around us that make us feel uncomfortable.

Uh the people that come to my mind is the homeless population.

Frankly.

I remember my um it was a few weeks ago my kids and I were picking up uh Chipotle to go.

And it's like, oh, my son had these gift cards and uh he was all excited to use them for his birthday, and then pandemic happened, and we weren't able to use them, and I'm like, fine, let's go, let's go get some Chipotle.

And so we get Chipotle, and as we're pulling out and pulling onto the road, there's a homeless, a young homeless man.

And I gotta be honest, let me just tell you my heart.

I looked at him and I was like, pretty, I'm pretty sure he's a meth addict.

I I don't agree with why he's there.

What did I do?

Prejudged him.

And my my son says, Dad, can we give him some of our food?

And um, I I gotta be honest, uh, I'm a little bit germophobic.

And it's like, well, we have tacos, and you can't really give tacos one taco, and then we'd have to touch him.

And I didn't explain all this.

This is what I'm thinking.

And I'm like, no, I don't think so.

And he's like, Dad, can I just give him one of my tacos?

Well, you see, tacos don't transport well, and this is not how it goes, and then the light turns green, and he's still asking, Dad, why can't we give him?

And I'm and I realized my son gets it and I don't.

And I said, son, let's turn around and let's go buy him a big old burrito and let's drop it off.

He's like, Thanks, Dad.

I'm like, no, thank you.

Because you led the way, not me.

See, favoritism or partiality is overlooking those who make you feel uncomfortable.

And it's such that I find in my heart that it's not just an act, but how do I make this a habit of loving those that make me feel uncomfortable?

And you can't do everything for everyone.

We talked about that a few weeks ago, but we can do something for someone and where we engage in that.

I think in the church world, and as we're looking, hopefully in the next few weeks or months, we'll be able to gather maybe in smaller groups and homes.

It's like the person that comes over that is a little awkward, maybe, or that you go, they're an EGR.

That's extra grace required person, where you're like, Oh my gosh.

And you go, No, no.

How can I love them?

How can I engage and not just go, it would be easier?

You're right, it would be easier.

And are there times where you just hang with your friends?

Absolutely.

I'm not saying that you don't do that, but but where we wouldn't be a click oriented, only hang with those who are comfortable church, but we would lean to the fringes and we say, no, no.

Every single person's valuable, and we're not gonna look down upon those we disagree.

We're gonna learn how to lovingly disagree and treat one another with honor and respect, and we're gonna engage in those uncomfortable places to love those that Jesus loves.

And so James then shifts the conversation from talking about well, what is favoritism?

What does it look like?

And he wants us to get this.

Why he starts with like this this is a big deal.

And he says, Well, why is this such a big deal?

He's going to give us three reasons.

Reason number one, first, it is an affront to the very heart of God.

It's an affront to the character of God.

He he begins it this way: he says, listen, pay attention, don't miss this.

And again, my dear brothers, we're family.

We're the family of God.

So especially in the family of God, this shouldn't be happening.

And sisters, has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him.

You're going to notice in these three reasons, he's just simply unpacking the Sermon on the Mount and what Jesus had taught.

That's Matthew chapter 5, verse 3.

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

Blessed are those who recognize they're spiritually bankrupt.

Blessed are those who recognize that whether I'm physically or spiritually bankrupt, I actually know that I need God, and so therefore my faith is only can be found in God, not in what I have.

He says, man, Jesus came and hung out with all the wrong type of people.

Jesus loved and served and welcomed many, uh the marginalized, the mistreated, the disadvantaged, the exploited.

And he goes, he goes on to say, but you have dishonored the poor, those who Jesus honored.

It's a violation and an affront to the heart of God.

Every person made in the Imago Day.

See, when I treat a poor person or any person poorly, it's exactly opposite of how God would treat them.

Let me say that again.

When I treat a poor person or any person poorly, it's exactly opposite of how God treats them.

Brothers and sisters.

You know, as we look at the tragic and hateful events that the murder of Mr.

George Floyd, we have to be a people who courageously confront the evil of racism.

And we and at the same time, we have to not perpetuate the same evil in return.

That's why I was so grateful for Tony Dungey's response to this.

He's a football coach or was a championship football coach, amazing Christian man, um, African American who writes in response, he said, what happened to George Floyd was inexcusable and it should never happen.

Justice needs to be served, but in seeking justice, we can't fall into the step of prejudging every police officer we see.

What started out as peaceful protests has have devolved into action and loot, arson and looting, and should never have happened either.

Yes, there should be protests, but we do not have license to perform criminal acts because we're angry.

Today, we are a divided country.

We're divided racially, politically, and social, socioeconomically.

And Satan is laughing at us because that is exactly what he wants.

Dysfunction, mistrust, and hatred helps his kingdom flourish.

Well, what is the answer then?

He asked.

I believe it is to start with those of us who claim to be Christians.

We have to come to the forefront and demonstrate the qualities of the one we claim to follow, Jesus Christ.

We can't be silent.

As Dr.

King said so many years ago, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

But we can't go forward with judgmental, bitter spirits.

We need to be proactive, but do it in a spirit of trying to help make things better.

And it can't be just the African American churches.

So listen up, church.

It has to be all churches taking a stand and saying we are going to be on the forefront of meaningful dialogue and meaningful change.

We have to be willing to speak the truth in love, but we have to recognize that we are not fighting against other people.

We're fighting against Satan and his kingdom of spiritual darkness.

In the words of the Apostle Paul, do not overcome, uh, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

This is so well said.

I I hope that we as a church take that to heart.

The first reason this is a big deal, it's an affront to the heart of God.

The second reason is the law of love demands consistency.

He he goes on to talk about the royal law of God that found in the scriptures, love your neighbor as yourself.

And if we do that, then you're you're you're doing well.

But then he's then he says, but if you show favoritism, you sin.

It harms and breaks the royal law of loving your neighbor as yourself.

He says, and you're convicted by the law.

See, the the royal law, it's royal for a couple reasons.

Royal because um it's the law of God, it's the law of the kingdom of heaven, and it's the law upon which all other laws fall under, like do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not lie.

It's all based on love.

It's just like loving you means I'm not gonna do these things, loving my neighbor.

And what we do is we pick and choose which kind of love we want to do and say, Well, I do this love, and I don't do this, and I feel good, and as long as I I'm not doing this, then it's okay.

And and James is saying, no, you you can't pick and choose.

Love must be consistent across the board.

You can't pick and choose your neighbor.

Love must be consistent.

You can't pick and choose what what of these things to obey.

By the way, this is a command.

You must not show favoritism.

We must not show favoritism.

Follower of Jesus, it's not optional.

It's not optional.

It's not like, well, I don't like that one.

I don't care.

Are you a follower of Jesus?

This is what we're called to do.

The law of love demands consistency.

And reason number three, you are not the judge and jury God is.

He goes on to say, speak and act as those who will be judged.

We don't talk about this probably near enough.

But even followers of Jesus will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give account for all we've done.

It has nothing to do with whether you're saved or not, but it has everything to do with how we actually experience eternity.

And the apostle Paul would say, and some will escape through the fire just barely.

And what's of gold and precious metals will remain, and what's unmade of wood, hay, and straw will be burned up.

What's worthless.

And see, when we speak and act, we we talk as if we're the judge, not as if we one day will be judged by what we say and what we do and how we live.

God is the judge.

May I not judge other people's motives, may I not speak angrily or somehow assume that I know best.

I don't know that person's world.

I don't know that person's reason.

Or we'd say, no, no, no.

I'm not the judge.

I'm not the jury.

God is.

And so, how do we experience social restoration?

Social restoration begins when followers of Jesus embrace there are no social distinctions.

Well, what do I do with this?

How do we move forward?

I think the first step is in embracing and owning that we all play favoritism.

Remember, James said stop playing favorites.

It's already happening.

And we just gotta say, like, raise both hands.

We're the human people.

Uh I know we're all human people.

There you go.

Uh but we're we're all in this, every single one of us, and own our own side of this.

And then we have to ask this question.

Before you speak, before you act, before I speak, before I act, we have to ask this question.

What does love require of me?

See, love requires a lot of things of me.

It requires me to speak up for those who don't have a voice.

It requires me to stoop down and tenderly care for those that are hurting.

It requires of me to assume the most generous explanation for someone's behavior.

What does love require of me before I ever speak and act?

In doing so, you'll keep the royal law of God.

Jesus.

And in John chapter 4, we get this picture.

John 4 · chapter mention

It's the woman caught, uh, not the woman, it's the woman in uh at the well, the Samaritan woman.

And if you understand the context, there were so many things in that moment that created division, judgmentalism, and a divide.

And and there in that moment, the woman was a Samaritan, which, if you understand that, there was a racial and religious divide, animosity between Jews and Samaritans.

I don't have time to get into that.

She was a woman.

There was a divide between men and women, and value system between men and women.

And in fact, a rabbi would never speak in public to a woman he didn't know like that.

Ever.

And then there was the moral divide.

This woman was an immoral woman, had five husbands, and she was living with a man that wasn't her husband.

And Jesus at the well asked the question.

I love his beginning.

He wasn't like, hey, I have something for you.

He asked something of her.

Would you give me a drink?

I see so much value will I in you, not only will I speak to you, I'll invite you to give me something I need.

And they begin this wonderful dialogue in which Jesus then explains and she experiences the healing grace of God.

I like how Henry Nowen had said it as he commented on this and his experience of working uh with people in the 90s who went were suffering from the AIDS uh pandemic at that time.

And as a priest and had all these different thoughts about and judgments about where they were coming from, he he said this in the prayer God, help me to see others not as my enemies or as ungodly, but rather as thirsty people, and give me the courage and compassion to offer your living water, which alone quenches the deepest thirst.

God help me to see others not as my enemies or ungodly, as thirsty people.

They just need Jesus, they need Jesus, we need Jesus.

Philippiancy in his book Vanishing Grace said this our confused society badly needs a community of contrast, a countercultural of ordinary pilgrims who insist on living a different way.

Social restoration begins when followers of Jesus embrace there is no social distinction.

May you ask, may I ask, may we be a people to ask this week and lean in what does love require of me?

Heavenly Father, we come to you and our hearts are heavy as our nation is just torn into and broken over the evil and injustice.

And so, God, we pray for justice, we pray for righteousness, we pray for protection that you would shine a light on all those who are doing evil and doing harm, and you would bring about repentance and that you would heal our land in Jesus' name.

Amen.