An Invite to the local Christian TV Station

I received a gracious invite as pastor of a new church start in middle GA to appear on "A Pastor's Heart" on WGNM. I will be heading over to record the segment a little later. The show will air January 2, the week of our launch into weekly services - great timing! Part of the show is the sharing of a "devotional" - so here's the basics of what I will talk about:

John 17:15-20 Jesus High and Priestly prayer - prayed just before His death.
Jesus prayed for His disciples and their future.
BUT verse 20 says
that He not only prayed for those disciples present with Him - but for all who would believe in Him through them - that means that Jesus was praying for us as well!

There are many great things that Jesus prays for us in these verses that we could talk about, but the one I want to focus on is verse 15.

In verse 15 - Jesus prayed that God would do something and that he would NOT do something.
He prayed that God would protect His disciples - and us today who are true Christ followers from evil. (Some translations say the evil one - Satan, the Greek is unclear, evil or evil one.)
That is easy enough to understand one way or another - evil or evil one.
BUT
We have trouble - particularly in the cultural Christian, religious Bible belt with what Jesus prayed that God would not do:
I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world.

In verse 11 Jesus said of Himself - I am no longer IN the world, and yet they are IN the world.

We have - in our desire to protect ourselves from evil - which was not Jesus' prayer (God protect, not you guys protect yourselves) - We have withdrawn from the people who need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have withdrawn from the "world."

Example - A new believer associated with New City, but currently attending another church has been told that she cannot go out with her "old" friends anymore because they drink and smoke go to bars. She doesn't desire to drink and smoke - she does desire to BE Christ in the midst of friends who do not know Him!
Jesus did not wait on people to come to the Synagogue - He went where they were!

We cannot be a light - or salt when we have withdrawn. The only people who see light in the church are largely churched people! The only people who taste salt when it is in a container are the people in the container!
The Church - the Body of Christ - we who believe are not to withdraw - we are to be in the world - where people who need Jesus are.

Our model for this kind of living is Jesus Himself! You know - WWJD? What DID Jesus do - he hung out with sinners, tax gatherers, and drinkers! (Matthew 9:11-12)

The segment is done conversationally with the host, so this should be fun!