What’s Wrong with America?
Pastor Darryn Scheske | Sunday, September 14
“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come.” Revelation 1:8, NLT
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 9:51–56, As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. But the people of the village rejected Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy, but to save.”
A reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, 4:22–24, You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by deceit; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
But Jesus turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;
It is possible to be a true follower of Jesus and behave in a way that is completely opposite to the spirit of Jesus.
Like you can have right belief, but operate in wrong behavior at the same time.
But Jesus turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy, but to save.” He comes to seek and save the lost…
What does lost mean? You’ve missed the mark, you’re off track, you’re not in the right place, not on the right past, gone astray, go to their own way…you’re doing it wrong.”
So who is lost? In fact, scripture says ALL of us are lost. At times we all have left God’s paths to go our own way. Paul said none of us are righteous, all missed the mark, all have sinned and fallen short. We’re all lost. But the favorite thing we do when were lost is to say, “I’m not lost!” “Look at that guy…he’s lost!”
Here’s the surprise clarity: You can be right and still be wrong. You can have the Bible in your hand, you can be zealous for truth — and still show up in a way completely opposite to Jesus.”
“Do you know what spirit you’re of?”
There is a list of the works of the spirit of this age Galatians 5:19–23 — that includes, “fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,".
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited or provoking one another. Galatians 5:22–26
So if you’re “right” and you have the Bible on your side, but you show up in a conceited way or a provoking way that’s not the spirit of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 13 — Paul warns if you’re so “right” that you have all knowledge, faith, or power, but without love you are “nothing.” You can be right and still be wrong.
Outrage is monetized. News networks, social media platforms, and pundits thrive on clicks and ratings, and nothing spreads faster than content that stirs outrage or fear. “How can ‘they’ do this to ‘us’?” —Berry & Sobieraj, The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility.
“Anger and anxiety are the two emotions most likely to drive partisan loyalty and voter turnout. Media and political figures exploit this by continually framing opponents as existential threats.” —Marcus, Neuman, & MacKuen, Affective
“Anxiety hijacks the amygdala…That means more reactive responses and less thoughtful listening.” —Oliver Robinson et al. The Impact of Anxiety Upon Cognition.
That means we’re all really prone to all/nothing, black/white, for us/against us, fight/flight reactions to simple disagreement.
Q: “Do you know what spirit you’re of.” You can believe all the right things, but your fears and your outrage are being reinforced by pundits in echo chambers, by your algorithm feeding you what you’re already fearful about or angry about. And what you’re consuming is actually discipling you.
Who you are becoming is what you are consuming day after day. So what happens when millions of Christians have right belief, followers of Jesus, but in their chronic anxiety they look no different than unbelievers. I know Jesus says I need to love my neighbor as myself, but how dare “they” say or believe something you disagree with. That’s “not right!” It’s like full alert, you literally feel a threat like there’s a bear coming to kill you. The body is flooded with the same chemical messengers as if the house is on fire.
. If the spirit of the age wields the sword of the Spirit, Jesus is going to say to you, Peter put away your sword.
Jesus whom we love and follow rebukes you and me right now and says, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy, but to save.” Why? Because there is no THEY, there’s only US. All of us are lost. All of us need forgiveness. And all of us need to forgive. This is at the very heart of the Way of Jesus.
If every Christian man or woman or student in America simply followed Jesus by living out the Lord’s Prayer every day, Father forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Even if they’re driving in the nails, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.” That’s the spirit of Jesus.
If all those who claim to be followers of Jesus would actually be led by the spirit and just follow their Lord Jesus this way, I think America would be completely changed.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Romans 12:2, NLT
Like what if we could see the total difference between “Christianity” and being a Christian man or woman, someone who is actually trying to take on the spirit of Jesus?
What is the Spirit of Jesus? — humility, unity, generosity, audacity, curiosity, tenacity — This is WHO Jesus IS.
Ephesians, 4:22–24 "Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by deceit; and be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Take off that old self that operates by the spirit of this age. Put on the new self that operates by the Spirit of Jesus.
Jesus said in Matt 5:3, "God blesses those who realize their need for God. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So God has to bless you. Give you something you don’t have to transform you into a new person. He blesses you by giving you His spirit to give us a new nature. It is a work of the spirit. The work of the spirit is to make us like Jesus so that we join him in changing the world."
What’s wrong with America? I need to change.