Pastor Russell’s Sermon “The Problem of Reacting”
COME NOW, AND LET US REASON TOGETHER…
Lead Pastor Russell does not always wind up delivering sermons upon subjects that he may have initially intended to cover. In the course of seeking direction from the Lord, he has been known to change direction in the tenth or eleventh hour before the Sabbath deadline arrives. I have witnessed him respond to an internecine denominational crises before, with practically no time available for advance preparation. A response to the violence at a Trump rally in Chicago similarly resulted in a last minute gear shift by the pastor. This week’s sermon, although not the one that he had originally intended (like the two previous examples), at least had the advantage of a few days wherein the raw material might be subject to contemplation. There was even time enough to print some handy notes to accompany the spoken word, ensuring that the congregation would not fail to forget the main points.
Pastor Russell’s sermon appeared to be a response to some improper attitudes displayed at both the local (church) and national (the presidential campaign) level. Some of these displays were specifically related to the church, but millions more have been negatively influenced, vis-à-vis their own personas, by the hostility of the present political climate. The author of all of the bad etiquette that is currently on display is undoubtedly the Adversary, but he has managed to recruit to the darkside the very people who should be setting a good example for the rest of us, the leaders and would-be leaders of our nation. “Politics as usual,” at least during presidential campaigns, has never exactly been a garden party, but the tone of the discourse has now sunk to new lows. This has been the case ever since Roger Ailes‘s unwelcome discovery that you actually can catch more votes with vinegar, than you can with honey. Bad mojo has spread from the political realm, into the context of the everyday affairs of the man on the street. Reason occasionally reasserts itself in the statesmanlike behavior of certain individuals, such as our incumbent President (or Pastor Russell, for example). But the rare voices of reason that are crying in the wilderness are getting drowned out, overwhelmed by all of this stentorian bombast, and outnumbered by a growing legion of fallen angels.
Pastor Fredrick Russell was dealing with what is the equivalent of errant children this Sabbath, May 14, 2016, so he gave them just what they needed: a stern “talking to.” As usual, here is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE. Pastor Russell gets down to brass tacks at around time marker 1:35:06. This was far more than simply an excoriation of those who have been exhibiting boorish behavior as of late. It was primarily crafted in order to instruct us as to how we, as followers of Jesus, are to REACT, when confronted by boorish individuals. The principal theme of this sermon is one that has been around for quite some time, and may be described by the following maxim: “You can’t control the way that people act, but you can control the way that you react to them.” I suspect that this is a recurring theme for sermons for the main reason that this message almost always winds up by the wayside, or in the brambles, or on stony ground, and must therefore be periodically replanted in the unreliable soil of people’s hearts.
Preachers must therefore continue to hammer these lessons home, again and again, up until the instant that Jesus reappears. On this particular Sabbath, Pastor Russell sought to augment our sanctity, diminish our sanctimoniousness, and convince us to try hard to “turn the other cheek” when events warranted. His primary Scriptural reference came from the Epistle of James, one of those significant parts of the Bible that, for comfort’s sake, is only selectively incorporated into most people’s spititual toolkit. James merited a full quarter’s Sabbath School study by the Adventists recently. The apostle manages to get under a lot of people’s skin with his controversial assertion that “faith without works is dead.” The Adventist pendulum of apologetics swings back in forth between the subjects of “faith” and “works,” depending what manner of critical brushfire they are dealing with at any given moment. But it is not a case of either/or. Faith holds the primacy, and is the key that unlocks every other door encountered upon the journey to Beulah Land. But keys are meaningless if you don’t use them to open some doors. What follows is a much less controversial statement by James, cited by Pastor Russell at the start of his effort to direct us to higher ground, and one so pregnant with wisdom that it might have been spoken by Solomon himself. James 1:19:
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (NLT)
A PROPER REACTION TO WHAT JAMES DESCRIBEs (VIA THE KJV) AS A “SUPERFLUITY OF NAUGHTINESS”
“Some of you think that the world should adjust to you, when you should be adjusting to God!” A brief prayer followed this opening salvo by the preacher, one that included an atypical supplication:
“Lord, help me not to pull any punches.”
“The Donald” was requisitioned to serve as a kind of benchmark for abrasive behavior, and as a touchstone for Pastor Russell’s opening remarks, as the man has totally revised the political landscape in this country. “Where are all those who choose to be mature, adult in their conversation?” The toxic miasma being generated by the candidates, and amplified by the media, is filtering down to the man on the street. The following is a paraphrase (as are nearly all subsequent statements in quotation marks; not engaging in fact-checking should spare an hour or so of time for activities that are less pleasant than summarizing sermons) of the pastor’s next remarks: “People are displaying a bad attitude toward one another. They manifesting bad reactions. Where is the Jesus in all of that?” The printed sermon notes now came into play.
These notes were divided into two sets of three “talking points,” followed by four Proverbs. The first set of three points was descriptive of some of the improprieties currently on display by selected members of both the local church, and the general populace. The second set of points used one of Christ’s earliest, and most significant followers as an illustration of the improper way to react to circumstances. This “fisher of men,” Peter, ultimately managed to get over his bad attitude. The notes, and the sermon, are then concluded with the four pearls of wisdom, harvested from Chapter 12 of the Book of Proverbs. The structure of the sermon could be described as three points, then three more points, three dual-purpose Proverbs, and a single concluding single-purpose Proverb. Here is a LINK about a literary perfectionist who liked to order his work into sets of three. Triads also formed a subtheme of the 1953 movie adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” as did some supplementary religious material that was not to be found in the 1898 novel. Wells was no friend of religion!
The first trio of points on the sermon notes was entitled “There are 3 Huge Challenges Most People Face.”
- The first Challenge is that we see things from our own perspective only! The pastor noted that, if we defined life only as we see it, then we will constantly be in trouble (Here is a nice LINK to an article attributed to the daily devotional “Maranatha” that lambasts selfishness. It is NOT from Maranatha Media, a hot bed of heresy that quacks just like a mainstream Adventist duck).
- The second Challenge is that we are prone to jump to quick conclusions. Pastor Russell warned us about not taking into consideration the “big picture,” and of not taking into consideration what others may be thinking. We only deal with what we can see (Here is another “Maranatha” LINK that includes this criticism of those who engage in hasty devotion: “With hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ’s loving presence, pausing perhaps for a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting for counsel”).
- The third Challenge was an elaboration of the second. We are more Reactive than Reflective. Nobody can do anything right, Pastor Russell said, unless the action coincides with their personal notion of what constitutes right (meaning what is good for #1). Personal prejudices are mistakenly embraced as a universal truths ( Judges 21:25, a remembrance of the “dark ages” of the children of Israel reveals that “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes”). Such delusions of personal infallibility render one a ready judge of those deemed unequal to our own presupposed state of perfection. But judgement is the perogative of God alone. “You can’t judge nobody,” the pastor asserted, using bad grammar on purpose, in order to make his point very plain. “Look at your neighbor and say, ‘you can’t judge nobody!'”
- Peter Assumed he knew the bigger picture. The pastor provided an aside which served as an indictment of certain “know it all” types. He recalled some speakers at church business meetings that displayed some real “attitude.” He related that he wished he could have addressed them as follows: “Calm yourself! Take some Prozac!” A “know it all” outlook leaves no room for the Spirit to do His work inside of us. “Sometimes,” the pastor observed, “because we don’t [truly] understand, we can miss what God is trying to do.” He tries to draw close to us. Our smug insularity repels Him.
- Peter Assumed he knew the best course of action. The best course of action was to “fight fire with fire.” He did not weld his sword in vain. Christ miraculously restored the damage to Malchus’s ear that was the fruit of Peter’s impetuosity. Pastor Russell offered a wry comment: “If you are the type who is always drawing a sword, you are going to loose a lot of the people around you.”
- Peter Assumed he was well acquainted with God’s purposes. But this is where John 18:11 was inserted into the sermon notes. God’s purpose in that cold night was nothing short of the redemption of the human race. Peter’s purpose was infinitely less significant, and not in the least an admirable one. Jesus orders Peter to “put away your sword.” Pastor alluded to another lesson from the Epistle of James when he stated that, “sometimes we need to put away our sword,” and then added that, “our worst weapon is our tongue” (James 3:6 reveals that “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell”).
Pastor Russell now informed the congregation that he simultaneously hoped, and did not hope, that they would take offense at his next comments. But it was imperative that he get his message through to us (even if it meant not “pulling his punches”). It appeared that selected members of the assembly had recently not been “representing Christ” (Elder Irene Bowden’s term). Proverbs 12:16, in the manner of most proverbs, states both the problem and the solution. It was the first of four that were printed in the sermon notes.
- “A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.” (NLT)
- “Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.” (NLT)
The pastor was referring to “makers of cutting remarks. Most of us also know a “wise healer” or two, but they are much harder to find than the possessors of acid tongues. He had some advice for the men that were present [although gander sauce is often used upon gooses, as well]. As godly men, we must help to bring about healing. This comment served to raise the issue of domestic tranquility, which would be revisited shortly. The third proverb shared the negative/positive structure of the previous two. It was Proverbs 12:10:
“Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!” (NLT)
Some reference was made by the pastor to the double-minded ways of “church people,” who show up for services dressed in sheep’s clothing. But it is easy to adopt a sanctified demeanor in church. “The hardest place to practice Christianity,” he revealed, “is in the home.” The pastor went on to say that, “as a Christian, I choose life. As a Christian, I choose healing.”
The fourth Proverb cited was not of the positive/negative class. In this one, bad has presumably been overcome, and a determination has been made to eschew bickering and backbiting. It displayed admirable resolve, and was laser-focused. It hailed from the same neighborhood (Chapter 12) as its three predecessors, and represented the concluding Proverb of the Chapter, and the concluding Proverb of Pastor Russell’s sermon. It was Proverbs 12:28:
“The way of the godly leads to life; that path does not lead to death.” (NLT)
“As this political heats up, you are going to see things heat up. People will start acting crazy!” But, as Bereans [and this case of rhetorical Synecdoche did not let non-Bereans off the hook], we were going to have to resolve to occupy the higher ground. We were admonished to “plan for peace,” and to not make cutting remarks. If a situation becomes too overheated, we may even have to defer our attempts to smooth ruffled feathers. “Sometimes the best course is to just walk away,” Pastor Russell observed. “It ain’t worth it! Perhaps they are not worth it!”
The speaker confessed that he is not always hip to the latest trends and offerings of music in the Christian genre. But he had recently, in the course of his peripatetic ministry, been exposed to the song “Just to Know Him,” by Chicago Pastor Charles Jenkins [my cat advises me not to mention that the chorus of this song, starting at 1:28 on the YouTube link, shares the melody of the chorus from the Eagles song “Take It Easy“]. The pastor was in public, worshipping, and this song provoked some deep contemplation: God’s primary desire is that we get to know him. Our greatest desire should be identical to God’s. This knowledge would serve to forever keep us from loosing our composure. The song is sandwiched into the sermon at time marker 2:12:45.
At the end of the song, Pastor Russell’s wife Brenda came to stand next to him. “I’ve made up my mind” (a real quote, and not a pseudo quote, as this summation demands an eyewitness report), “that the place I need to be Christian most is with this woman right here. And the only way I can do that is that I know God. For if I don’t know God, then everything in my life goes, everything is imbalanced for me. But when I make the focus of my life to know God, to know God, then God has this way of shaping your heart, of shaping your temperament, of shaping your responses to life. But when I do not know God, when I do not spend time with God, and Him converting me, and changing me, then even when people try to speak spiritual things to you, you are rejected.” Self subsumes Spirit. A Christian attitudes falls by the wayside. Out self-justification does not justify us in the eyes of our Creator (the song was briefly reprised at this point).
The national embrace of the sermons topic seemed to narrow to the Berean congregation in the final minutes, but the last few statements included the whole of humanity. The remedy for dissonance, dissent, and division is to be like God Himself. The way we effect this is both by receiving His Spirit, and keeping His commandments. The way to know God, and His will for us, is through prayer, and by knowledge of His Word. The fruits of this are peace on earth and eternal life. These are results worth seeking.
